General collections

Thematic sections that are constantly updated through the regular acquisition of national and foreign works.

Acquisitions are primarily focused on the areas of art history, modern and contemporary visual arts, architecture, photography and Portuguese design, as well as on different subjects relevant to the study and knowledge of the art collections of the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum and the Centro de Arte Moderna.

Currently, the collections comprise more than 190,000 volumes of monographs, including an important collection of exhibition catalogues and an active collection of approximately 115 periodical titles.

The general collections also include a set of multimedia documents consisting of documentaries produced commercially about foreign artists and artistic movements, as well as documentaries produced by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and other national entities about art and artists in Portugal.

Exhibition catalogues

An important collection, constantly updated, comprising catalogues of exhibitions held in national and international museums and galleries, covering a period from the late 19th century to the present day.

This includes not only catalogues that are available on the commercial circuit, but also those published by the galleries themselves that promote the exhibitions and which often have limited circulation.

The Art Library has been making available in digital format a set of catalogues of exhibitions held in national galleries and institutions that have since ceased their activities.

Periodicals collection

Periodicals collection comprising around 2,000 titles, of which around 115 Portuguese and foreign newspapers and magazines are currently subscribed to.

A list of current art journals is available on the catalogue’s home page, as well as a digitised version of the covers and summaries of each issue received since the beginning of 2001.

Among the available titles, it is possible to search bibliographic references from articles in around 50 newspapers and magazines (both national and international).