Art & Architecture: Art Museums
Tips: Preparing to Visit & Research Art Museum Collections
North Carolina has many fantastic art museums. Here are a few tips for visiting and conducting research in art museums:
- Many art museums have websites with additional information about the objects they have on view, as well as objects not currently being exhibited. Check out museum websites before your visit, to not only learn what their hours are, but to also get familiar with the collection ahead of your visit. Also, take a look at our tips below for locating art museum catalogs.
- Some art museums have special rules for sketching or painting in the galleries. Check the museum's website or call the museum before you visit to find out what their rules are for drawing and painting in the galleries.
- It is usally okay to take photos of works in art museums IF the museum owns the work. Art work that is on loan from another museum is typically off-limits. Flash photography is usually not allowed in art museums as the flash may damage light-sensitive works and distract other visitors.
- Visitors are typically asked not to touch objects on display in art museums (although there may be some cases with contemporary art where you are invited to touch). This is to protect the work from natural oils and dirt on our skin that can damage the work.
Corpora/Collection Catalogs
Art museums are increasingly posting on their websites images and information about the works of art in their collections. However, it is simply not possible to post information about every museum object online. Print museum catalogs continue to serve an important role in conducting art research. The Sloane Art Library holds over 23,000 museum collection catalogs and exhibition catalogs.
To locate catalogs of art museum holdings, search online library catalogs and/or Worldcat for the name of the museum and the subject keyword "catalogs". For example:
Art Museums in NC and Beyond
- Ackland Art Museum, UNC-CHUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Greenville County Museum of Art, SCThis South Carolina museum includes a major collection of southern art.
- Greenville Museum of Art, NCIncludes works by Francis Speight, Sarah Blakeslee, and other NC artists.
- Hickory Museum of ArtA noteworthy NC collection of American art.
- Louise Wells Cameron Museum, WilmingtonFeatures a growing collection of work by NC artists and artisans.
- Mint Museums, CharlotteFeatures an artist database of works in the collection, including a large number of prints by Clare Leighton.
- Morris Museum of Art, Augusta, GAA museum of southern art which includes, in its list of artists, NC artists. Its library houses the Center for the Study of Southern Art, and includes the papers of several key artists.
- Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts, Winston-SalemMESDA maintains an artists and artisans database.
- NCCU Art Museum, DurhamA major collection of works of African-American artists.
- North Carolina Museum of Art, RaleighIn addition to hosting exhibitions of NC artists, the Museum's Library maintains a vertical file which includes NC artists.
- Reynolda House, Winston SalemOne of the foremost collections of American art in the Southeast.
The Dance Class
Edgar Degas, The Dance Class, 1874, oil on canvas, Collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art