Richardson Memorial Library reading room, with furniture and bookcases designed by Cass Gilbert, 1973; Courtesy of Saint Louis Art Museum Archives
“The value of an art library in connection with an Art Museum is as great and important as are the collections of pictures and other art objects,” proclaimed the City Art Museum Bulletin, the forerunner of Art Museum’s Members Magazine, when it announced the opening of a library dedicated to assisting a new generation of educators committed to elevating the study of art to “the highest place in our educational development.”
For the Saint Louis Art Museum, those words are as true today as they were when they were published 100 years ago to mark the opening of the Richardson Memorial Library.
The Library is the result of the first legacy gift ever given to the Museum – a bequest of stocks and bonds valued at the time at about $60,000 from Mary D. Richardson, who wished to honor the memory of her husband, St. Louis businessman J. Clifford Richardson. What started as a collection of 5,000 volumes in converted Main Building galleries has grown into a research facility that boasts 140,000 volumes, extensive holdings of auction catalogues and pamphlets documenting the history of artists in St. Louis, and digital access to scholarly articles from around the world.
Unlike many art museum libraries, the Richardson Memorial Library is open to the public. And during its public hours – from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, Tuesday through Friday – the Library often is used by visiting art historians, university students, and local collectors. In addition, the Library staff oversees a network of six Satellite Resource Centers that give educators access to a loan collection of curriculum kits and “touch kits,” which include touchable objects and reproductions that help students learn about art history.
The library’s namesake is remembered by Joseph Clifford Richardson, a bust by George Julian Zolnay that must be on view in the library according to Mary Richardson’s bequest.
The Library will celebrate the 100th anniversary of its April 18, 1915 opening by hosting learning opportunities for teachers, adults, and children.
On April 16, the Museum welcomes area teachers for Love Your Library, an evening workshop that will introduce them to library resources that can support classroom learning. Teachers will learn to “curate” online collections of art images, and they’ll hear about how they can enhance their lessons by learning advanced techniques for searching electronic, scholarly journals.
On four consecutive Fridays starting April 24, adults can explore all aspects of the book, from codex to contemporary forms, in Rare and Unusual: Discovering the Book Arts in St. Louis. The class, from 10:00 am to 11:30 am, includes visits to the Library and the Museum’s Study Room for Prints, Drawings, and Photographs; as well as the library of the Missouri Botanical Garden, and Washington University’s Nancy Spirtas Kranzberg Studio for the Illustrated Book. The class costs $75 for the general public and $60 for Members. For more information and to register for the class, visit slam.org/education.
Children and their parents are invited to celebrate the Library’s 100th birthday with an afternoon of family-friendly, book-themed activities on April 18. The free event includes a journal-making activity in Grigg Gallery from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm; family tours of the Museum’s collection at 2:30 pm and 3:15 pm; and storytelling in the Library at 2:00 pm, 2:30 pm, and 3:30 pm. Books will include Library Mouse: A Museum Adventure and The Day the Crayons Quit.