Library oft the Fundaçáo de Serralves - Museu de Arte

The bibliographic collection of the Fundação de Serralves was initially constituted by a Documentation and Research Centre (CID), created in 1987 in order to facilitate the research work necessary for pursuit of the activities of Serralves Villa, including exhibitions, guided visits, cultural tourism trips and art history courses.
The creation of Serralves Library, when the Museum of Contemporary Art was inaugurated in June 1999, represented a dramatic change in the scope and mission of its predecessor, the CID. The Library, now aimed to offer a public service and initiated a programme of acquisitions that over the course of 13 years enabled it to expand its collection from 9,000 to 35,000 titles, distributed across five main areas:

• Contemporary Art
• Landscape / nature / garden architecture
• Artist’s books and publications (a unique collection in the Iberian Peninsula, that has already resulted in 30 exhibitions in the Library’s mezzanine floor)
• Documental Collections, specifically the Melo and Castro Collection (acquired in 2002) and two collections established at the time of production of two exhibitions ("Raymond Hains" in 2000 and "Porto 60/70" in 2001)
• Archives: in particular the Carlos Alberto Cabral Collection (a magnificent collection that documents the construction project of Serralves Villa and Park), the Photographic Archive (images of Serralves Villa, garden, farm, exhibitions, works from the collection and activities), and the Graphic Material Archive (a compilation of materials produced within the framework of the Foundation’s activities).

The collection of Artists´ Publications includes various categories, ranging from artists’ books to single objects. It is available for consultation after prior reservation and approval by the museum’s management team. This is a unique collection in Portugal and is considered to be one of the most important aspects of the Museum’s overall collection. In fact, as the Museum’s collection represents a selection of works by international artists created from the mid-1960s to the present day, it is essential that artists’ books be represented in this collection, since they represent one of the freest and most singular experiences of a constantly-changing aesthetic context.

Library oft the Fundaçáo de Serralves - Museu de Arte
Rua Dom João de Castro 210
4150-417 Porto
Portugal

Opening Hours:
Monday - Saturday from 10.00am – 6.00pm