The Library of the Hungarian University of Fine Arts is the oldest specialized art library of Hungary; since the institution’s founding in 1871—spanning more than 150 years—it has been collecting books and periodicals related to Hungarian fine arts, as well as specialized literature in foreign languages. In addition to printed publications, the library supports the educational and research activities of the university by the subscribing to domestic and international databases. The collection currently consists of nearly 100,000 volumes. The most significant pieces are the 19th-century ornamentation pattern sheets and pattern books. Artifacts related to optics and the illusion of movement – donated by Bertalan Székely - are also noteworthy part of the collection.
The unique Art Collection contains around 10.000 pieces, most of which are works by former students and masters the of the school. Apart from them, other highlights of the collection include Japanese woodblock prints from the Meiji period; masterpieces by famous Art Nouveau poster artists – including Alfons Mucha – and a nearly complete series of copperplate engravings by Giovanni Battista Piranesi. In addition, around 12,000 photographs represent the work of artists, mainly from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, such as Baron Wilhelm von Gloeden, the Alinari brothers, Giorgio Sommer, Jean-Baptiste Igout, Hermann Heid, Károly Divald, György Klösz and Sándor Beszédes. The former collection of painting reproductions includes outstanding pieces by Adolf Fényes, József Koszta and Gyula Tornyai, providing visitors with an insight into the history and techniques of Hungarian printmaking, as well as the methods, past and present, of higher art education in Hungary.
The specialized archive was established in 1995, and it preserves official documents produced by the university and its predecessor institutions, as well as sources of historical significance. The collection also includes the papers of former art teachers.
Among other items, documents from the estates of the art historian Károly Lyka (1869–1965) and the painter Tivadar Zemplényi (1864–1917) can be found at the archives.
The student registers, which form an almost complete series dating from 1876 onwards; the registers of the First and Second Master Schools of Painting (1883–1932) have outstanding historical value. The archives also safeguard rarities like the certificate for the Grand Prize awarded to the School of Design at the 1906 Milan World’s Fair.
The separate unit of the Archive includes leaflets, invitations, posters, exhibition guides, wall texts, photographic documentation and visitors’ books relating cards related to exhibitions held at the institution. The significant photographic collection is partly available online via the collection’s shared catalogue. The photographs depict moments from art education, classroom work, teachers and reproductions of artworks.