Library
& Archives
The McMichael Library and Archives is a leading research resource for Canadian art, offering a comprehensive focus on the Group of Seven alongside significant collections on Indigenous art and culture.
From primary sources such as artist papers, letters, and photographs to secondary materials including books, exhibition catalogues, periodicals, and artist files, the McMichael Library and Archives support the work of McMichael staff and external researchers alike—advancing scholarship in the field of Canadian art and visual culture.
When Signe and Robert McMichael began building their collection in the 1950s and 1960s, they recognized the importance of gathering research materials that documented the artists—particularly the Group of Seven—and their creative processes. Through her early efforts, Signe McMichael established the foundation for the gallery’s rare book holdings on Canadian art, including books illustrated by Canadian artists and unique archival papers.
Over the past five decades, both the library and archives have continued to expand through generous donations and acquisitions. Today, the McMichael holds an extensive non-circulating reference collection, open to researchers by appointment on weekdays.
Please note: Onsite access to the McMichael Library and Archives is temporarily unavailable. While in-person research visits cannot be accommodated at this time, staff will continue to provide limited assistance with research inquiries via email as capacity allows.
Illustrated books from the McMichael Library, Rare Book Collection
Rare books from the McMichael Library Collection
Thoreau MacDonald Collection
Special Collections
The McMichael Archives house a range of unique collections. Selected finding aids and inventories can be accessed through the Collection Database, while additional archival materials may be consulted by request.
Special Collections
The Norman E. Hallendy Archives
This extensive collection of Arctic research materials includes more than 12,000 documentary photographs taken by Norman Hallendy, a dedicated amateur ethnographer who travelled to the Arctic hamlet of Kinngait (formerly Cape Dorset) annually for forty years to learn about and document their way of life. The resulting images capture traditional life, northern communities, and the landscape of Canada’s Arctic, providing valuable insight into decades of artistic practices in Kinngait, including printmaking, engraving, carving, and textile work.
The accompanying research materials document the intellectual and material culture of the Inuit of southwest Baffin Island, comprising video and audio recordings, a semantic field database and dictionary, maps, books, and research files. Hallendy’s groundbreaking documentation of inuksuit, sacred sites, and places of power has helped preserve an essential part of Canada’s cultural heritage. Click here to learn more about the Norman E. Hallendy Archives.
The Arthur Lismer Collection
Acquired from the Estate of the artist, this archive provides an in-depth look at the life and work of Arthur Lismer. Spanning from the 1890s to the late 1960s, the collection includes more than 900 drawings, cartoons, and sketches, as well as over 1,300 original photographs. Additional materials—diaries, correspondence, manuscripts, ephemera, memorabilia, and published works—offer an invaluable record of Lismer’s creative evolution and his contribution to Canadian art.