Spencer Art Reference Library

08/18/2026

Join library staff for an engaging discussion of Megan O’Grady’s How It Feels to Be Alive: Encounters with Art and Our Selves (2026). Share your thoughts as we explore how art shapes our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.

Growing up in Kansas City, O'Grady was a frequent visitor to the The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and makes reference to many works and artists in the permanent collection. Find copies for sale in the museum store or your favorite local bookstore.

FREE | Book Discussion
How It Feels to Be Alive
by Megan O'Grady
Saturday, Oct. 3 | 10:30-11:30 am
Spencer Art Reference Library
Reading Room
RSVP to let us know you're coming! www.nelson-atkins.org


Book Jacket Image: Georgia O'Keeffe, 1960 by Tony Vaccaro / Getty Images

07/29/2026

Applications for the Karen Gould Collection of Medieval Manuscripts and Early Printed Books Research Awards are being accepted starting Saturday, August 1, 2026!

Three recipients will be awarded $500 each for research using this special collection. Open to student, researchers, educators, artists, and creatives. Make haste and apply today!
https://nelson-atkins.org/learn/library/ -award

07/28/2026

Join us this Saturday in the Library for Hidden Treasures...this special collection promises to be aces. We're hoping for a full house and if you play your cards right, you might see something inspired.

Saturday, August 1 | 1:30-3:00pm | Free

07/22/2026

What a wonderful night at Book Social: A Reading Party at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art! Thanks to everyone who came out and made the evening so lively and engaging.

If you couldn't make it this time, join us on September 18 for the next chapter of this unscripted reading experience. Bring a book, settle in, and enjoy the happiest, low-fi night of book conversation, art, and community—the perfect blend for book loving folks. See you soon!

07/15/2026

We are incredibly proud of our superstar colleague, Tara Laver!

Congrats to Tara Laver, senior archivist at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, who has been named a 2026 SAA Fellow! https://ow.ly/rBRl50ZnyGm

07/06/2026

The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art archivist has put together a play-by-play exhibition, Shuttlecocks: from Cynicism to Symbol, tracing the sometimes controversial making of our museum and city’s beloved icon. We can’t remember the lawn without them, can you? Now on view in the Spencer Art Reference Library.

06/06/2026

The Bayeux Tapestry has been in the news and so today’s Hidden Treasure drop-in program will feature an accordion folded book in the library’s collection – Bayeux Tapisserie da la Reine Mathilde (Queen Matilda’s Tapestry). Stop by the Spencer Art Reference Library today between 1:30 – 3:00pm to spend some time with this small-scale facsimile and learn about its history.

05/22/2026

HEADS UP! We're moving things around...

Join us as we partner with the to explore Philomene Bennett's Artist File, a career archive. We will discuss Bennett's iconic career as an artist and advocate for Kansas City's creative community. In addition, we will answer questions about how you can submit your own Artist File to the Spencer Art Reference Library at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art

Artist File Initiative & KCAC Collab
Fri May 29th 5:00pm - 6:00pm
KCAC Gallery, 3200 Gillham Rd



Detail: Philomene Bennett, from the series "Abundance and Gratitude"

05/07/2026

Put our calendar on your calendar!

05/01/2026

Join us for a look inside Auction Catalogs--take a fun spin through decades of art markets. Drop-in Saturday 1:30-3pm.