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The University Art Collection, some of which is displayed in various offices and spaces around campus, is composed mostly of gifts from alumni and friends and thus reflects manifold tastes and collecting interests. It includes paintings, antiques, sculpture, graphic media and objets d'art. Many of the historic paintings, documented in the University Archives since the early years of Georgetown College, represent religious subjects, portraiture and landscape. Five signature works by Luca Giordano, Anthony Van Dyck, James Alexander Simpson and others are on permanent display in Carroll Parlor in historic Healy Hall. The majority of the paintings are in storage either on or off site, and are available for loan to qualifying administrative departments.
The bulk of the art collection comprises works on paper, particularly 20th-century American prints as well as works with local significance and by artists of the surrounding area. These are maintained in the Library’s Booth Family Center for Special Collections. The result of generous gifts and some judicious acquisitions, the core of the collection was assembled by the late Joseph A. Haller, S.J., Curator Emeritus of Fine Prints. The collection continues to expand under the current curator, with the primary aim of serving faculty and students across all disciplines. Rotating exhibitions from the fine prints collection are displayed in the Library’s Charles Marvin Fairchild Memorial Gallery throughout the year. Current and past exhibitions may be browsed online.
Visitors may inquire about viewing accessible objects from the art collection, and contact the curators with any questions.