Bard Graduate Center is devoted to the study of decorative arts, design history, and material culture through research, advanced degrees, exhibitions, publications, and events.

Bard Graduate Center advances the study of decorative arts, design history, and material culture through its object-centered approach to teaching, research, exhibitions, publications, and events.

At BGC, we study the human past and present through their material expressions. We focus on objects and other material forms—from those valued for their aesthetic elements to the ordinary things used in everyday life.

Our accomplished interdisciplinary faculty inspires and prepares students in our MA and PhD programs for successful careers in academia, museums, and the private sector. We bring equal intellectual rigor to our acclaimed exhibitions, award-winning catalogues and scholarly publications, and innovative public programs, and we view all of these integrated elements as vital to our curriculum.

BGC’s campus comprises a state-of-the-art academic programs building at 38 West 86th Street, a gallery at 18 West 86th Street, and a residence hall at 410 West 58th Street. A new collection study center will open at 8 West 86th Street in 2026.

Founded by Dr. Susan Weber in 1993, Bard Graduate Center has become the preeminent institute for academic research and exhibition of decorative arts, design history, and material culture. BGC is an accredited unit of Bard College and a member of the Association of Research Institutes in Art History (ARIAH).

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Bard Graduate Center’s Department of Research Collections, comprised of the library, study collection, and BGC archive, supports the research interests and needs of students, faculty, and fellows with resources from a non-circulating collection that includes approximately 60,000 books, 400 print periodicals, a wide range of databases, special collections comprising rare books and periodicals, and more.

Polly Cancro, BGC’s research services librarian, is responsible for a wide range of services including reference and general research support, bibliographic instruction, special collections access, interlibrary loans, orientations for new students and fellows, consultations for outside visitors, and maintenance of the department’s web and social media presence.

In addition, Cancro also expands BGC students’ awareness of other libraries, archives, and special collections around the city that can be essential to their research. Recently, she organized a visit to the Fashion Institute of Technology’s Special Collections and College Archives. This highly-specialized repository of primary source materials related to fashion and design includes rare books, periodicals, oral histories, designer scrapbooks, manuscripts, and works on paper. Karen Trivette, head of special collections, introduced BGC students to the research space, showed them how to access items, and provided an opportunity for close looking at selected items in the collections.

Cancro also planned an outing to the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum’s Library for an orientation tour with head librarian Jennifer Cohlman Bracchi. Cooper Hewitt provides an excellent resource for the entire BGC community with a collection that comprises a wide range of material related to design and decorative arts from the fifteenth century to the present. Students toured the research spaces, took a close look at selected special collections items, and learned about accessing material.

According to first-year MA student Brielle Pizzala, the trips to other libraries and archives have been “incredible. I am amazed by the treasures held within libraries and archives that are only a subway ride away. I now know I can explore their collections and follow my curiosity.”

Learn more about Cancro and her role at BGC.