We invite you to sit at a table in the Art Institute’s Franke Reading Room, where scholars, writers, and students spend hours at the desks, drawn by its stately turn-of-the-twentieth century architecture, and the vast and varied collection of our library and archives. In fact, a century ago, Helen Gardner did much of the research for her seminal Art Through the Ages: an introduction to its history and significance, in our library. First published in 1926, Gardner’s book remains a standard art history reference, evolving over the course of its 16 editions to reflect the changing field of art and art history. Her writing desk is one of the Reading Room’s special features, speaking to the generations of researchers who have explored our materials to tell new stories.
Helen Gardner’s desk in the Ryerson and Burnham Libraries, with Miyoko Ito’s Revolt in the Desert on the wall above
The Art Institute’s library and archival collections also continue to grow and change through our efforts to engage new artistic directions, while representing the global history of art across an array of materials. Our remarkable holdings include innovative publications designed to open, unfold, pop-up, and even spin. They demonstrate the creative, exacting, and often surprising methods that artists use to showcase their work at an intimate scale
So we’ve pulled five special examples from our collections for a closer look. And what better place to view them than on Ms. Gardner’s desk?
Hidden Messages
Though books encourage readers to fall into them, sometimes books reach out into our world. For centuries, innovative bookmakers have been adding interactive elements to their creations.
In the early 19th century, lawyer-turned-book-enthusiast Stacey Grimaldi created The Toilet (1823) to provide moral instruction to young ladies, but with a cheeky twist. His introduction encourages the reader to “adorn yourselves with each of these little decorations” in order to become more lovely. All of the dainty drawings within are covered in a flap that, when pulled back, reveal the real beautifiers. For example, “The Enchanting Mirror” peels away to show that humility is the virtue to be sought. In the clip below, a perfume bottle reveals that “An universal and genuine beautifier” is not the scented liquid within, but “Good Humour.”
Stacey Grimaldi
Off the Page
Pop-up books also allow artists to engage their audience in a new way. Kara Walker is a contemporary artist known for her room-sized installations of paper silhouettes, often telling painful stories surrounding America’s history of the violent enslavement of Black people. In Freedom: a fable: a curious interpretation of the wit of a Negress in troubled times (1997), Walker’s trademark style is shrunk to the size of an unassuming book, but turn the pages and the pop-ups bring her silhouettes into the reader’s personal space, immersing them in an antebellum tale of broken dreams.
—Anna Feuer, acquisitions and collection manager, Ryerson and Burnham Libraries, Research Center
In Rotation
What if, instead of flipping the pages of a book, you spin them? The Rotoreliefs, created by Marcel Duchamp, the French artist and writer associated with Dada and conceptual art, are printed discs designed to be spun on a record player as an optical experiment. The mesmerizing patterns on the discs morph as they spin, at times tricking the eye into seeing a 3D projection.
Marcel Duchamp
They are intimate, tactile, and enthralling—as a book should be! But, the Rotoreliefs express an artist’s unique challenge to our expectations of an art object, and a challenge to the viewer to engage with and experience a work of art in an entirely novel fashion.
One of a kind
Most books are published in an edition and printed as multiple copies. However, some are one of a kind because they are made entirely by hand. Hebdomeros is an inventive re-binding of a Giorgio de Chirico novel by the artist Mary Reynolds. Reynolds transformed an ordinary published book into a sculpture with a columnar, fluted spine, layered rainbow leathers, and disorienting typography. The custom cover, spine, binding and sleeve were collaged by hand with lavish materials like silk and calfskin. Unboxing the book means gripping the plush, craggy surfaces and overcoming the friction of its multiple textures. Did Reynolds imagine that we might also read Hebdomeros, caressing its form in our hands for hours?
Hebdomeros, published 1929; rebound 1930–1950
Mary Reynolds
See more of Mary Reynold’s bindings in Frida Kahlo’s Month in Paris: A Friendship with Mary Reynolds, on view through July 13, 2025.
—Jill Bugajski, executive director, Research Center
Unfolding
This delicate poster, announcing an exhibition by the artist Rufino Tamayo, was printed on tissue paper in the colors of the Mexican flag by the printer Aboitiz, who was known for printing posters for bullfights. The owner of the Misrachi bookstore, Alberto Misrachi, was motivated by Tamayo in 1937 to open an art gallery for emerging Mexican artists such as Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros, and himself. The result was the Galeria Central de Arte Moderno–Misrachi, established in 1933 in Mexico City.
This poster entered the Art Institute’s collection just a few months after the exhibition at Galeria Central de Arte Moderno-Misrachi in 1949 and is part of our Artists Files collection, which holds exhibition announcements and creative ephemera of all kinds for over 30,000 artists and art galleries.
—Amelia James, collection services associate, Research Center
Stay tuned for more articles featuring works from our collections!
The Franke Reading Room is the central hub for the Art Institute of Chicago’s Research Center. Comprising the Ryerson and Burnham Libraries, the Art Institute of Chicago Archives, and Academic Engagement and Research, the Research Center provides resources and support for anyone seeking to learn more about art and architecture, and about the history of our museum. And beyond the page, the Research Center organizes academic programs that feature innovative perspectives on art and art history, and supports the emerging professionals who are the future of these fields.
Whether you’re an experienced researcher or just curious to learn about art, access to our Reading Room is open to the public. Just be sure to make an appointment. Then, browse our online catalog to choose the books and other materials you want to see.
Not sure where to start? Reach out to us at reference@artic.edu to get help from a librarian. And when you’re here, take a moment to stop by Helen Gardner’s desk.
See more of our special books and explore more works by Kara Walker, Marcel Duchamp, and Mary Reynolds.
You can find letters, photos, and more about Mary Reynolds in our extensive archival holdings.
