The Frick Art Reference Library in World War II: Helping Save Europe's Art

Aerial photograph of Pisa after bombing, showing damage and bomb craters at railroad yards in the foreground and undamaged historic monuments to the north

Aerial photograph of Pisa after bombing, showing damage and bomb craters at railroad yards in the foreground and undamaged historic monuments to the north, which had been identified on the map prepared by the Committee.

Aerial photograph of Pisa. The Frick Collection/Frick Art Reference Library Photographs.The Frick Collection/Frick Art Reference Library Archives.

black and white photograph of william dinsmoor seated looking at maps and photographs

William Dinsmoor, chairman of the ACLS, comparing a U.S. Air Force photograph taken during a bombing attack to a keyed city map of Pisa and lists of the principal cultural monuments of the city.

Photograph of William Bell Dinsmoor consulting maps at the Frick Art Reference Library, ca. 1943-1944, The Frick Collection/Frick Art Reference Library Photographs. Courtesy of the National Archives.

black and white photograph of two committee members working with a draftswoman on a map of paris in the Frick Art Reference Library reading room

Bill Burke and Jane Mull, members of the Committee on the Protection of Cultural Treasures in War Areas at the ACLS, working at the Frick Art Reference Library with Gladys Hamlin, draftswoman, on a map of Paris.

Photograph of Bill Burke, Jane Mull, and Gladys Hamlin preparing a map at the Frick Art Reference Library, ca. 1943-1944. The Frick Collection/Frick Art Reference Library Photographs. Courtesy of the National Archives.

Explore more about the Frick during World War II

Monuments Men Podcast

"The Frick Art Reference Library in World War II: Helping Save Europe's Art"
Inge Reist, Director of the Center for the History of Collecting, Frick Art Reference Library of The Frick Collection
 
World War II