Library
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The special art library The Latvian National Museum of Art’s library was established in 1905. Architect Wilhelm Neumann set aside space for a library, and today it has nearly 22,000 books, most of them in German, Russian, English and Latvian. The most valuable items in the collection are catalogues from every exhibition staged at the museum between 1905 and 2010. There are also valuable gifts from individuals, such as the personal library of art publications that was collected by the artist Kārlis Sūniņš. The library has books about Latvian and foreign art history, monographs about artists, albums of reproductions, art lexicons, dictionaries, handbooks and encyclopaedias. There are major periodicals about art that were published in Latvia and other countries in the late 19th century and the 20th century. Many outstanding specialists have worked at the library. One of the most legendary workers was Mērija Grīnberga (1909-1975), who ran the library in the 1950s. The library is currently restricted to museum specialists, art students, instructors and scientists in the field of art. There are plans to expand the library and to make it accessible to all visitors. |