DEPARTMENTS

The library of the Institute of Art History was founded in 1956 by Professor George Oprescu, starting from a core of 18000 books and periodicals donated by the Romanian Academy Library. Most of the donation came from the former royal library founded by king Charles I, a bibliophile and art collector. The library endowment increased with the addition of books from various museums that had been closed down and whose collections had become part of the MNAR. An approximate 2000 volumes, in particular books on modern art, came from the Toma Stelian Museum; another book fund was obtained from the Simu Museum opened in 1910 by art collector Anastase Simu, one of Antoine Bourdelle's patrons and friends. The library later received another 6000 volumes bequeathed by George Oprescu in his will; many of these are rarities. The book collection increased over time via acquisitions, donations, exchanges and subscriptions to Romanian and Eastern-European periodicals.

The increase and diversification of library collections, particularly of the periodical collection, is mainly due to international exchanges with art universities, research institutes, and museums. Below is a list of the publications received on a regular basis from the Institute's partners in Germany, France, Italy, UK, USA, and the Netherlands: