Art in the Library There's more than books on those walls!

December 19, 2018

The Leatherby Libraries offer many resources – books are perhaps the most obvious one, but others that many students and faculty might think of right away include digital databases, quiet study spaces, events, and printing facilities. But are you aware that we also have a number of art gallery spaces?

That’s right – the Leatherby Libraries are host to a number of gallery art spaces. Some of these are home to temporary exhibits, like the Reading Revamp exhibit, currently visible in the first floor Hall of Art, or the Duo Exhibition, showcasing the art of two Chapman alumni, which recently came down from the walls of the Doy and Dee Henley Reading Room on the second floor. In addition to these temporary exhibition spaces, the Leatherby Libraries also have a few more permanent displays, very generous gifts to the library from our donors.

Lining the walls of the lower level of the Libraries, between the California Gold exhibit and Huell Howser Archives, the Center for American War Letters Archives, and the computer labs, is one of these permanent exhibits. Installed in late November 2018, these eleven pieces of art were all gifts to the Leatherby Libraries from the Ben Dolson Trust. These works are made of a variety of materials, from watercolors, to serigraphs (silk screening), to handwoven silk. They include some more familiar works – like a print of Claude Monet’s water lilies – as well as paintings by less well-known artists, such as the two serigraphs by Argentinian-American artist Aldo Luongo of his father. Check them out below (click on each image to see the title and artist’s name), and head down to the lower level to see them in person.

: “Water Lilies,” Claude Monet

: “Summer Smile,” Aldo Luongo

: “Brew at Gardel’s,” Aldo Luongo

: “FX McRory’s Whiskey Bar,” Leroy Neiman

: “Bay Area Baseball,” Leroy Neiman

: “New York Stock Exchange,” Leroy Neiman

: “Subscription #15,” B. Hixson Smith

: “Poppin’ Poppies,” Rosemary MacBird

: “Menton Harbor,” Kerry Hallam

: “Cloud Patterns” Ruth Hynds

: “Absolute American Ship,” Tony De Luz

All the way upstairs, in the fourth floor Library Administration offices, another gift hangs on the walls. Five pastel paintings, all by Carson Gladson (Chapman Class of 1961), were donated to the Leatherby Libraries earlier this year by David Hardacre (Class of 1962). These pastels depict scenes of natural beauty in the West, from a diptych (or two-part work of art) portraying Monument Valley, to a painting that depicts a river just outside of Mammoth. Take a peek at these below (click on each image to see its title), and also feel free to come on up to the fourth floor to see the works in person.