Below is an ever-growing list of museums that have digitized their fan collections (wholly or in part) and have made those records available online. This list is also available as a downloadable PDF: Museums with Online Fan Collections (updated August 13, 2023).
Search and usage tips
REMEMBER that accuracy of catalog entries will vary greatly! If in doubt about a description or date, please contact the museum directly, post your question on our Facebook page, or message the Fan Association of North America for advice.
- Suggested search terms have been included where useful.
- Websites are subject to change and links may become outdated. If a search doesn’t yield results, go directly to the website’s homepage and look for a Collections or Search link.
- Non-U.S. websites may offer a Language Selection tool at the top of the page.
- Verify an image’s Public Domain status and Terms of Use before including it in any type of publication or promotional material. Links to web pages can be shared freely, but please respect all copyrights and don’t distribute or publish images without permission.
Museums in the United States
- Albany Institute of History & Art
- Asian Art Museum (San Francisco)
- Carnegie Museum of Art (Pittsburgh)
- The Charleston Museum (SC)
- Chicago History Museum
- Cleveland Museum of Art
- Concord Museum (Concord, MA)
- Cooper Hewitt
Many of the Cooper Hewitt’s fan images are Public Domain Artworks.
- Dallas Museum of Art
- Dayton Art Institute (OH)
- Detroit Institute of Arts
- de Young Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco
- FIDM Museum & Galleries
- Goldstein Museum of Design (University of Minnesota)
- Gregg Museum of Art & Design (North Carolina State University
- Harvard Library (MA)
- Henry Art Gallery (Seattle)
- Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens (Washington, D.C.)
- Historic Richmond Town & Staten Island Historical Society
- Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston)
- Kent State University Museum (OH)
- Lasell College Fashion Collection
- Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)
- The Metropolitan Museum (MET)
Many of the MET’s fan images are Public Domain Artworks. - Minneapolis Institute of Art (MN)
- Minnesota Historical Society
- Missouri Historical Society
- Museum of the City of New York (MCNY)
Digitized with assistance from FANA. - Museum of Fine Arts Boston (MFA)
Includes the Esther Oldham Collection - National Air and Space Museum, Washington, DC
- Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (Kansas City, MO)
- Newport Historical Society (RI)
- New York Public Library Digital Collections
(mostly images of fans in performance, art, and advertising) - North Carolina Museum of History
Suggested search phrase: hand fan - Oakland Museum of California (OMCA)
- Philadelphia Museum of Art
- Phoenix Art Museum
- The Ringling Museum
- RISD Museum (Providence, RI)
- Ross County Historical Society Tumblr (Chillicothe, OH) Search: fans
- San Diego History Center
- Slater Memorial Museum (CT)
- Smithsonian American Art Museum
- Thomas Jefferson University Textile and Costume Collection
- The Walters Art Museum (Baltimore, MD) – Most of their images are Public Domain
- Wayne State University Libraries Digital Collection (MI)
- Whaling Museum, New Bedford, MA – Online exhibition
- Winturthur Museum
Suggested search phrase: hand screen - Cool Breezes: Handheld Fans in Fashion, Art and Advertising –
Wisconsin Historical Society online exhibit. - Yale Collections Discovery (LUX). See also Yale Peabody Museum Collections Portal
Museums Worldwide
- Auckland Museum, New Zealand
- Bibliothèque Forney, Paris
Large collection of advertising fans (éventails publicitaires) - Bibliothèque Nationale de France – Fans and Fan Leaves
- Blaise Castle House Museum /Bristol Museums, UK
- The British Museum
- Casa Museu Medeiros e Almeida, Lisbon Portugal
From the home page, click on Colecao (Collections), then select Lecques (Fans). - Chertsey Museum, UK
- The Chester Beatty, Dublin, Ireland
- DigitaltMuseum (Sweden/Norway) Search term: solfjäder
- Durham University Museums, UK
- The Fan Museum, Greenwich, UK
- The Fitzwilliam Museum, UK (beta)
- Hampshire Cultural Trust, UK
- Images d’Art – an image database containing works from French museums. Search term: eventail
- Joconde: Portail des collections des musées de France AND www2.culture.gouv.fr/documentation/joconde/fr/decouvrir/zoom/zoom-eventail.htm– The online collections portal for the Ministry of Culture’s Department of Museums of France.
Search (recherche) using the term: éventail - Koninklijk Oudheidkundig Genootschap, The Netherlands
Search term: waaier - Livrustkammaren, Hallwyl Museum, & Skoklosters Castle collections Search term: solfjäder
- Louvre, Paris Search term: eventail
- MAK – Austrian Museum of Applied Arts
- Manchester Art Gallery, UK
- McCord Stewart Museum, Montreal
- The Memory, Netherlands – a database of objects from more than a hundred Dutch museums, archives and libraries.
- Musée d’Art et d’Histoire, Geneva
Search (recherche) term: éventail - Musée de la Nacre et de la Tabletterie, Méru, France – via Joconde
- Musée du Quai Branly, France
An extensive collection of ethnographic fans. Search (recherche) term: éventail - Musées de Normandie, France
- Museo del Romanticismo, Madrid
Search term: abanico - Museo del Traje, Madrid
Search term: abanico - Museo Lázaro Galdiano, Spain
- Museu Arenys de Mar / Marès Lace Museum, Barcelona, Spain
- Museu Frederic Marès, Barcelona, Spain
- Museu Histórico Nacional, Brazil
- Museu Paranaense, Brazil (search term: leques)
- Museum of Anthropology (MOA), University of British Columbia, Vancouver
- Museum of Applied Arts, Budapest
Search term: Legyező - Museum of London
- Museum of New Zealand (filter by Object)
- Nasjonalmuseet (National Museum), Norway
- Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen en het Wereldmuseum (NMVW), Netherlands
- National Gallery of Victoria, Australia
- National Museums Scotland
- National Trust Collections, UK
- Ostankino Museum Grabar Art Conservation Center, Russia (virtual exhibit)f
- Palazzo Coronini Cronberg (Italy)
Search under Oggetto (Object): ventaglio - Paris Musées
Search (recherche) term: éventail - Powerhouse Museum, Sidney
- Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
Search term: waaier - Royal Collection Trust, UK
- Royal Museums of Art and History, Brussels – Carmentis
Recherche avancée: éventail - The State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg, Russia
- Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A), London
- Waddesdon Manor, Buckinghamshire, UK (Rothschild Collections)
- Wien Museum, Vienna
Search term: Fächer
