The Fine Arts Library showcases special collections in a display case and general collections on bookshelves in our Reading Room. Our librarians curate rotating exhibitions for the display case, and we often work with guest curators. In addition to physical exhibitions, we also have a number of digital exhibitions.
Current Exhibitions
Digital Exhibitions
Picturing the Sultan
Take a deep dive into the ways rulers of the Ottoman Empire were represented by local artists and foreign visitors.
Chinese Rubbings Collection
Explore East Asian rubbings of objects that date from the Qin Dynasty to the Ming Dynasty.
Early Photography of Japan
These images primarily document the early history of commercial photography in Japan, or what is often called Japanese tourist photography or Yokohama shashin.
The Forgotten Cities
Explore the monasteries, churches, and tombs of the Forgotten Cities, a group of 700 historic settlements in Syria dating from the first to seventh century CE.
Past Exhibitions
Artists’ Magazines and Newspapers: Alternative Spaces for Art in the 1960s and 70s: July 14–September 28, 2026
Remembering Yayoi Kusama 草間 彌生: September 3–30, 2026
Woven Worlds: March 3–June 30, 2026
Calling for Action: Books for Earth Month! April 1–April 30, 2026
Trying to Forget: The Removal of Figures from Early Photographic Images: August 1–November 7, 2025
New Acquisitions Spotlight: Contemporary Art: February 2–March 22, 2024
Seeing Blue: Images of Sun Time: November 1–December 15, 2023
Daily Traces in the Artists' Books Collection: April 22–July 22, 2022
MOTIF — A Journal for the Visual World: February 1–April 21, 2022
Marcel Broodthaers: The Space of Writing: March 10–June 5, 2020
Langdon Warner Photographs from the 1924 Dunhuang Expedition: January 2–March 6, 2020
Picturing the Sultan: Images of Ottoman Rulers in the Fine Arts Library’s Collections: September 12–December 20, 2019
New Acquisitions in Dialogue: Palladio: July 7–September 11, 2019
New Acquisitions Spotlight: Ellen Knudson, Intrusion: June 5–July 3, 2019
New Acquisitions Spotlight: Richard Tuttle, Early Auden, 1991: May 6–June 4, 2019
Night Revels of Han Xizai (韩熙载夜宴图): December 18, 2018–March 15, 2019
Camera Woman Along the Medieval Pilgrimage Roads: August 1–November 30, 2018
Other Digital Exhibitions
These digital exhibitions feature collections from the Fine Arts Library, and they are curated and/or hosted by other institutions including Archnet.