About the E H McCormick Research Library and Archive
Nau mai, haere mai, welcome to the E H McCormick Research Library and Archive. The library was established in 1953 by then Gallery Director Eric Westbrook as a small reading room with only a few hundred books. The original collection was a donation from Auckland’s Society of the Arts.
The Research Library and Archive was originally established to be a place of genuine scholarship and available to students and scholars along with the Gallery staff. Today, it remains a valuable resource for scholars and students but is also fully open to the public – allowing all to enjoy and learn from the vast knowledge and history housed in the library and archives.
The library team continues this legacy and commitment to scholarship through active collecting, caring for and providing access to the extensive research collections on New Zealand and international art, with emphasis on the artists in Auckland Art Gallery’s art collection.
We also have a rolling archival display showcasing new archives, archives relating to Gallery exhibitions or other research and reference material.
Support for researchers
Our team is made up of specialist fine arts librarians and archivists who provide expert research support to Gallery staff and external researchers. We are proudly supported by the Auckland Art Gallery Foundation. This allows us to continue to collect, care for, preserve and provide access to our extensive research collections.
Search our archives and collection online or contact the library if you have any questions or need help accessing materials for your project. Please note that archives take 2 to 4 weeks to retrieve.
Explore the archive
Our archive collection is a treasure trove of art histories, providing information and insights into New Zealand art and artists. Explore archive collections and see a selection of digitised archival items online.
Books and more at the library
Our library collection includes books, journals, artist files and more representing a significant source of knowledge on New Zealand and Pacific art, international contemporary art, historic and modern art, and museology. See our full collection via Auckland Libraries catalogue or come and see us in the library.
Library projects
Find New Zealand Artists
The Find New Zealand Artists database is a joint project by Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki and Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū. Operating as an information portal, the website allows users to search for and locate information on over 18,000 New Zealand artists in one place.
Laurel Doody Library Supply
The E H McCormick Research Library proudly partners with Laurel Doody Library Supply, a project that was founded to help with the challenges facing artists publishing on a small scale. The project works to distribute these rare and careful publications beyond artists’ social circles, while providing for their long-term safekeeping.
Contemporary Art Library
The Contemporary Art Library is an online archive of artists, spaces, and projects from around the globe, both historic and contemporary. In collaboration with archive donors, the E H McCormick Research Library and Archive helps preserve Aotearoa’s art history through the Contemporary Art Library.
Read archival Gallery publications online
Reading Room journal
Reading Room was a peer-reviewed journal published by the E H McCormick Research Library from 2007 to 2018. The journal published essays, artists' projects and shorter articles for its archive section.
Gallery Quarterly journal
Dive into the history of the Gallery with the archives of the Gallery Quarterly journal, published from 1956 to 1978.
Exhibition catalogues
The archive includes all the Gallery’s exhibition catalogues. Check out our online archive for a selection of digitised catalogues. For other catalogues, visit us in the library or contact us.