Did you know the Tucson Museum of Art and Historic Block has a research library available to the public? It's just a few blocks away from our Joel D. Valdez Main Library.
The Tucson Museum of Art and Historic Block's Research Library opened in 1974 and includes a non-circulating (books can't be borrowed) collection dedicated to the visual arts and has more than 13,000 titles all easily searchable through the Pima County Public Library Catalog. In addition to books, the collection has art magazines, museum publications, and other materials related to the museum’s exhibitions and collections. They also make a color copy machine and scanner available for the public.
*Also open by appointment. Visit the museum website for current hours and directions.
You can also contact their volunteer library staff directly with your reference questions or to find out if they have the information you need.
Phone: (520) 624-2333
They have several physical collections that are not available online (not everything is on the internet!). They have books, of course, and specialize in American West and Latin American art, contemporary/modern art and information about the historic properties in and around downtown Tucson.
They also have lists of works and artifacts owned by the Tucson Museum of Art.
In our catalog, you can do a Subject search for Tucson Museum of Art and then filter the results on the left side of the screen. We get to include items from their collection thanks to a Library Services and Technology Act grant.
Read on for a peek at a few treasures in their collection!
Rare books and local artist biography files – newspaper clippings, old artist statements and other materials.
Files on major historic downtown houses included in the Historic Block: J. Knox Corbett House, La Casa Cordova, Edward Nye Fish House, Romero House, and Stevens/Duffield House. Parts of this archive are also available online: Tucson Museum of Art Historic Block Homes - A Window on Bygone Days.
Scrapbooks containing the early history (1940-1971) of the museum, telling the story of its role in the mid-century modernist movement in Arizona. Parts of this archive are also available online: Tucson Museum of Art, A History - Posters, Prints, and Photographs from the Library Archives
And Art magazines – current and going back to the 1930s.
