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Search the Collection

Search the entire National Gallery of Art collection by artist's last name, key words in the title, key words in object information, credit line, provenance name, accession number, exhibition history, and/or catalogue raisonné. You will be able to filter your search results by medium, nationality, time span, styles, images, and whether an object is on view. It is not necessary to fill in all of the form fields.

Artist Name and/or Title

More ways to search

Key words in object information:

Search the entire object record in the Gallery's collection database for any word. Not all the fields searched will be visible in your results.

Credit Line:

Search text of the credit lines provided by donors for all objects in the Gallery's collection.

Provenance name:

Search by the name of a former owner (donors, dealers, auction houses, and individuals) of a work of art in the Gallery's collection. All donor names are searchable, but because provenance research is an ongoing project at the Gallery, your search results for a former owner prior to the donor may not be complete. See also the results of the Gallery's extensive research into the World War II-era provenance of paintings, sculptures, and drawings in its collection. For more information, see provenance search tips and how to read Gallery provenance texts.

Accession number:

Each object in the Gallery's collection is assigned a unique number in three parts, separated by periods (to which a fourth part is added if needed). The three parts represent the year of acquisition (the earliest year is 1937), the transaction within the year, and the object's number within the transaction.

Search by entering the complete or partial accession number; the search automatically inserts a wildcard if you enter a partial number. These examples explain possible search results:
1942. - returns all objects acquired in that year
1942.9 - returns all objects in the transaction
1942.9.1 - returns the individual object, or all parts of an object with a multi-part record
1942.9.17.b - returns the individual part of an object

Exhibition history:

An object's exhibition history records all known exhibitions to which it has been lent since it was created. Search by words in the exhibition title, venue, venue city, year, or exhibition catalogue number.

Catalogue raisonné:

A catalogue raisonné is a publication of the complete work of a particular artist. Search by the author's last name, year of publication, or catalogue raisonné number.

See the works that are on view now in the National Gallery.
See all drawings, paintings, photographs, prints, and sculptures in the collection.