Singapore, Republic of, National Gallery Singapore Rotunda Library & Archive

Overview

The Rotunda Library and Archive is the research library and archival facility of National Gallery Singapore, situated in the historic Supreme Court Wing of the Gallery's premises in Singapore's Civic District. It serves as one of the world's most comprehensive repositories of Singapore and Southeast Asian art-historical resources, supporting the Gallery's curatorial mission of documenting and interpreting the art histories of Singapore and the wider region.

History and Background

National Gallery Singapore was established in 2015 as a leading visual arts institution with the world's largest public collection of Singapore and Southeast Asian modern art. The Gallery's library and archive function traces its origins to the National Museum Art Gallery, which opened in 1976 and maintained a departmental library of approximately 15,000 volumes. When art collections and their associated library materials were progressively transferred to the Singapore Art Museum (established 1996) and then to National Gallery Singapore, the art-historical library materials relevant to the Gallery's focus were also reallocated. The Rotunda Library and Archive was formally inaugurated on October 12, 2019, within the gallery space of the former Supreme Court Law Library, a circular rotunda room designed by local architects Brewin Design Office. The rotunda itself dates to the Supreme Court building opened in 1939.

Collections and Holdings

The Library and Archive holds approximately 20,000 archival items and nearly 10,000 reference materials. The library collection features over 10,000 titles including rare books, artist monographs, exhibition catalogues, museum publications, and journals focused on Singapore and Southeast Asian modern and contemporary art, with sections on Chinese art, Western modern art, general art history, and museum studies. The archive consists of primary resources created by or collected directly from artists, historians, art writers, and patrons, including letters, writings, interviews, performance recordings, sketches, drawings, and exhibition ephemera. Holdings include rare materials from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and significant collections such as those of Singapore artists Georgette Chen and Lim Hak Tai, Indonesian artist S. Sudjojono, and the Philippine Kalaw Ledesma Foundation.

Access

The Rotunda Library and Archive is open to walk-in visitors without prior appointment or admission tickets, Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 2 to 5 p.m. It is strictly reserved for reference use; materials may not be borrowed. An online collections search portal is available at collections.nationalgallery.sg.