What We Offer

The Terra Foundation Library of American Art is Europe’s only research facility devoted exclusively to the historical art of the United States and transatlantic artistic exchange.

The Terra Foundation Library of American Art specializes in art from the eighteenth century to 1980, with particular emphasis on the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Holdings of the Terra Foundation Library of American Art consist of more than 12,000 English-language books and catalogs, including rare materials and digital resources, on painting, sculpture, and graphic arts, as well as photography and decorative arts. A partnership between the Terra Foundation and the Fondation Custodia provides access to a shared reading room and combined holdings of approximately 150,000 volumes on Western art history.

The Terra Foundation Paris Center & Library is located in the historic hôtel Lévis-Mirepoix, at 121 rue de Lille.

Library of American Art

Created in 2009, the Terra Foundation Library for American Art in Paris is Europe’s only research library devoted exclusively to the art of the United States. The library specializes in visual art from the eighteenth century to the present day, with particular emphasis on the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and is constantly being updated to reflect expanded narratives of American art.

The library’s holdings consist of more than 12,000 books and catalogs, including rare books and digital resources, on painting, sculpture, and graphic arts, as well as photography and decorative arts, all of which are catalogued online. JSTOR, Artstor Digital Library, and ProQuest (American Periodicals Series and International Bibliography of Art), are also available for consultation.

The Terra Foundation Library for American Art is a non-circulating research library open to the public and free of charge.

Access the library’s online catalogue.

A partnership with the Fondation Custodia, home to the Frits Lugt Collection and the first private art history library in France, provides access to a shared reading room and combined holdings of approximately 150,000 volumes of Western art history.

Hours and Contact

The Terra Foundation Library for American Art in Paris, located at 121 rue de Lille, is open from Monday through Friday from 2pm through 6pm. For an appointment outside these hours, please contact Ewa Bobrowska at [email protected] or +33 1 43 20 82 65.

Due to French and Dutch national holidays, the library is exceptionally closed to the public on the following days in 2023:

Monday, April 10
Thursday, April 27 & Friday, April 28
Monday, May 1
Monday, May 8
Thursday, May 18 & Friday, May 19
Monday, May 29
Friday, July 14
Monday, August 14 & Tuesday, August 15
Wednesday, November 1
Monday, December 25-Monday, January 1, 2024

Terra Foundation Publications

The foundation produced titles that resulted from the past work of the foundation’s curatorial and academic program teams. These books include exhibition catalogues in multiple-language editions, scholarly monographs, critical anthologies, and a thematic research series and serve as a resource to scholars, students, and the arts-interested public.

All our titles are available through the University of Chicago Press.