Subject strengths include the art and material culture of West Africa, Papua New Guinea and Irian Jaya (Indonesia), and Precolumbian Mexico and Peru, with extensive holdings in related disciplines such as anthropology, ethnology, and archaeology.
The library routinely collects exhibition and auction sales catalogs, as well as academic theses and dissertations.
History The library of the Museum of Primitive Art, located on West 54th Street in Manhattan, opened to the public in 1957.
His Primitivism in Modern Art, initially published in 1938, was the pioneering study of the subject.
Located on the mezzanine level of the Michael C. Rockefeller Wing, the library is accessible by advance appointment on Tuesdays and Thursday, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.