Museum

Thomas J. Watson Library

The Libraries of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

  • Watson Library

    REGISTER HERE
    to use the Library

    For Visitors:
    Tuesday 9:30–5:15
    Wednesday 9:30–5:15
    Thursday 9:30–5:15
    Friday 9:30–6:00
    Saturday 10:00-2:00

    For Museum Staff:
    Monday-Friday 9:00–6:00
    Saturday 10:00-2:00

    Paging ends
    at 3:30pm on weekdays
    at 1:30pm on Saturdays
    See paging times.

    See Access and Hours for more detailed information and Holiday Closings.
    (212) 650-2225

  • Nolen Library

    Monday (staff only) 9:00–5:00
    Tuesday–Thursday 9:00–5:00
    (visitors: 9:30-5:00)
    Friday 9:00–6:00
    (visitors: 9:30-6:00)
    Saturday 10:00–6:00
    Sunday 10:00–5:00

    See the Nolen Library page for more detailed information.
    (212) 570-3788

Filed under: Research

How can I find out where a painting or a particular work of art is located?

There is no master list of where works of art are located by country, state or city.

  • Consult books and exhibition catalogs about the artist in question.
  • Consult THE WORLD’S MASTER PAINTINGS (Christopher Wright) which is a listing of selected works in some museums.
  • Search the Internet, but be careful.  Searches may bring up inaccurate or confusing results.  The advanced search option in many web interfaces may be worth using if you find that you have too many results, or are not getting what you want.