Institut national d'histoire de l'art

Name

Institut national d'histoire de l'art

Legal name

Institut national d'histoire de l'art (INHA)

Website

https://inha.fr

Company type

Public

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cultural Research and Art History Library Services

NAICS

Libraries and Archives (519210), Web Search Portals, Libraries, Archives, and Other Information Services (5192), Book Publishers (513130)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721), Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

Humanities & Arts Scholarly Publishing (EDAGAFAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Academic & Scholarly Journals Publishing (Peer-Reviewed) (MPAJABAC), Scholarly Societies & Conference Proceedings Publishing (MPAJABAK), Academic & Research Library Operations (College/University Libraries) (EDAEAGAB), Interlibrary Loan (ILL) & Resource Sharing Operations (EDAEAGAK), Open Access Scholarly Journals & Monographs (EDAGAFAJ)

Keywords

• Art history research
• Specialized library services
• Digital heritage collections
• Scholarly publishing
• Cultural research institution

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership fees (SABAA): Société des amis de la bibliothèque d'art et d'archéologie (SABAA) generates revenue through annual membership fees: 50 euros minimum for regular members, 30 euros for students. Members receive free access to all collections, document loans, exhibition invitations, and SABAA-organized activities for one year.
2. Interlibrary loan fees: INHA charges fees for interlibrary loan services: 8 euros per book for university libraries without reciprocity agreements and municipal libraries; 12 euros per book for other French and foreign libraries. Photocopy services also generate fees.
3. Reproduction and digitization services: Revenue from photocopying services (B&W A4: 0.15€, A3: 0.30€; Color A4: 0.75€, A3: 1.20€), document digitization (for bound documents: 5€ flat rate + 0.10€ per page; for loose items: 5€ flat rate + 1€ per page), and print services.
4. Publications and editions sales: INHA publishes books through its editions division, including the scientific journal Perspective and exhibition catalogs sold through bookstores and co-publishers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

INHA operates one of the world's largest art history libraries at its Paris Richelieu/Galerie Colbert site, providing on-site and digital access to over 3 million documents, scholarly databases, and archival collections. It complements the library with research programs, free public colloquia/seminars/debates, a peer-reviewed journal (Revue Perspective), a publishing house (INHA Éditions), an artist residency (INHALab), a podcast, and event venue hire at Galerie Colbert. Revenue is generated through SABAA membership fees, interlibrary loan charges, digitization/photocopy fees, and publication sales, with the institution's core mission funded by the French Ministry of Culture.

Product overview

INHA (Institut national d'histoire de l'art) is a French national research institute and campus dedicated to art history and heritage. It operates as a single unified institution offering a comprehensive portfolio of services centered around its world-renowned art history library and research activities. The core offerings include the Bibliothèque de l'INHA (one of the world's largest art history libraries), the Bibliothèque numérique de l'INHA (digital library for online access to digitized collections), the academic journal Revue Perspective, research databases via Agorha, archival catalogs through Calames, and INHA Éditions for scholarly publishing. Additional services include the INHALab residency program, the Galerie Colbert for exhibitions and events, the photographic digitization service (service photo), interlibrary loan services (PEB), and venue rental at the Colbert gallery. The institution also produces the podcast 'La recherche à l'œuvre' to disseminate art history research to broader audiences.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Revue Perspective: INHA's peer-reviewed scientific journal published quarterly, covering art history scholarship.
• Bibliothèque numérique de l'INHA
• SABAA (Société des amis de la bibliothèque d'art et d'archéologie)
• Agorha
• Archives de la critique d'art

Products and services

• Bibliothèque de l'INHA (INHA Library) One of the world's largest art history libraries housed in the Labrouste reading room at the Richelieu site in Paris, providing access to monographs, periodicals, exhibition catalogs, sale catalogs, digital resources, and over 3 million documents for researchers, students, and museum professionals in art history and archaeology.
• Bibliothèque numérique de l'INHA Online digital library providing free worldwide access to digitized collections including prints, drawings, photographs, manuscripts, and archival materials, with images available under the Etalab Open License for reuse.
• Revue Perspective (scientific journal)
• Agorha research database explorer
• Calames catalog of unpublished heritage documents
• INHA Éditions (publishing house)
• INHALab artist residency Annual artist residency program at INHA supporting artistic creation and research using the institution's library, archives, and research resources, including the 2026 residency.
• Galerie Colbert venue and exhibition space
• Service photo (photographic digitization service)
• Prêt entre bibliothèques (PEB) / Interlibrary loan
• Salle Labrouste reading room
• La recherche à l'œuvre (podcast)

Quantifiable outcome

• Free public access to colloquia, seminars, and debates with online replays
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• SABAA (Société des amis de la bibliothèque d'art et d'archéologie)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounded in 1925 by Jacques Doucet to support the library he bequeathed to the University of Paris. SABAA continues its mission supporting INHA's library through acquisitions, restoration projects, and donations. Membership fees fund acquisitions and conservation efforts.
• French and international institutional libraries and documentation centerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerINHA maintains institutional exchange relationships with documentary establishments worldwide, exchanging publications (catalogs, museum publications, auction catalogs) to enrich mutual collections and strengthen institutional ties.
• Archives de la critique d'art (Rennes)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerINHA maintains connections with the Archives de la critique d'art in Rennes, receiving donations and supporting this collection within its broader documentary ecosystem.
• Société des amis de la bibliothèque d'art et d'archéologie (SABAA) donors networkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerExtensive network of individual and institutional donors contributing documents, archives, prints, and funding to enrich INHA collections. Includes major donors like Léonard Gianadda and institutional donors worldwide.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz (Max Planck Institute): Max Planck Institute dedicated to art-historical research, operating a major specialized library and publishing scholarly works. Directly comparable to INHA in research-library focus, scholarly publishing, and international research community.
• Warburg Institute: University of London institute dedicated to the study of cultural history and the role of images in culture, with a renowned library, photographic collection, and scholarly publications. Comparable to INHA as an art-history research library with publishing and academic event programming.
• Getty Research Institute: A major art-history research library and scholarly institute in Los Angeles, operating one of the world's leading collections on art history and architecture. Directly comparable to INHA in mission (art-history research library), publishing programs, and digital scholarship offerings.
• Bibliotheca Hertziana (Max Planck Institute for Art History): Rome-based Max Planck Institute for art history with a world-class research library. Comparable to INHA as a European art-history research library with scholarly events, fellowships, and publications.
• Zentralinstitut für Kunstgeschichte: Germany's central research institute for art history in Munich, with a major specialized library, scholarly publishing, and international research programs. A near-direct European peer to INHA with overlapping functions in library services, publishing, and scholarly events.

Broad incumbents

• Bibliothèque nationale de France: France's national library, which actually shares the Richelieu site with INHA. A broader incumbent in the same building and parent ecosystem, operating across all disciplines with overlapping services in scholarly access, interlibrary loans, and digital collections.
• J. Paul Getty Museum: Part of the broader Getty Trust alongside the Getty Research Institute, the museum operates major art collections, exhibitions, and publications. A broad incumbent in art-history research infrastructure and cultural-heritage publishing.
• Centre Pompidou: Major French national cultural institution with library, research, exhibition, and publishing activities spanning modern and contemporary art. Comparable as a French public cultural-research institution with overlapping library and publication functions.

Regional players

• Fondation Custodia: Paris-based foundation operating a research library and scholarly collection on drawings and art history. Comparable as a Paris-based art-history research library with scholarly publications and curatorial programming, though with a narrower collection focus.

Others

• JSTOR: Digital platform aggregating scholarly journals, books, and primary sources widely used by art-history researchers. Comparable as an open/institutional-access scholarly research infrastructure serving INHA's user base, although operating as a commercial digital publisher rather than a physical library.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/inha.fr

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

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