From the Stacks: An Art Lover’s Library

Orton P. Camp Jr. History Gallery

For decades, Diane Ackerman and her family collected thousands of exhibition catalogs, artist monographs, and other books covering topics as diverse as European Renaissance drawings and contemporary American art. In 2025, Ackerman and her daughter, Kelly, donated a substantial portion of this collection to the Museum’s Max R. Traurig Library and Archive, drastically increasing the library’s size and scope. From the Stacks: An Art Lover’s Library celebrates this gift by sharing selections ranging from artist Ronald King’s vivid prints of The Canterbury Tales (1978) to the encyclopedic Great Drawings of All Time (1962). Ackerman and her late husband, Martin, were avid collectors of contemporary art throughout their lives, and the library of art books they built reflects that. Their passion for art extended beyond books, too: through the Martin S. Ackerman Foundation, they made significant donations of art to museums across the country.

More about this exhibition

The Max R. Traurig Library and Archive and its collection of art and history books, as well as substantial archives on Waterbury history, is available to any visitor by appointment. Learn more and schedule your research visit by contacting Caleb Weissman at caleb@mattmuseum.org. Although the books on view will not be available until the conclusion of the exhibition in late 2027, there are dozens more titles from the donation ready to be explored.

This exhibition is curated by Caleb Weissman, Archivist/Librarian.

Image Credits:

The Prologue to the Canterbury Tales, volumes II, XV, XVI, and XVIII,1978, text by Geoffrey Chaucer and published by Circle Press Publications; open spread shows Ronald King, Shipman, 1967, silkscreen on paper. Gift of Diane and Kelly Ackerman

Great Drawings of All Time, volumes I–IV, 1962, edited by Ira Moskowitz and published by Shorewood Publishers; open spread shows Eugène Delacroix, Lion’s Head, 1843, watercolor, and Tiger Walking to the Left, c.1831, pen with watercolor and pastel. Gift of Diane and Kelly Ackerman