BC Library’s World-class Art Collection Now Online

11/8/2007

On the walls of the Brooklyn College Library's magnificent second-floor reading room are murals of two of the world's greatest libraries: Egypt's Alexandrian Library and Rome's Augustan Library. The murals, entitled "Famous Libraries of the World," are the work of Olindo Mario Ricci, who painted them from 1936 to 1939, funded by the Federal Arts Project. Ricci, who began the murals as a WPA artist and completed them as a Brooklyn College professor, wanted students "to feel as if they are in the company of the greats" as they studied. Now these important works, along with 60 others by internationally recognized artists included in the library's art collection, are available for viewing online.

Diverse in character and international in scope, the collection features works by Elizabeth Murray, William Kentridge, Chakaia Booker, Shahzia Sikander, Sarah Sze, John Walker, Edward Ruscha, and Xu Bing. Several of these artists live and work in Brooklyn's dynamic art community, and all of them have works in major museums around the world. The collection also includes drawings and prints by Alberto Giacometti, Käthe Kollwitz, Alexander Calder, Georges Braque, Robert Motherwell, and Chaim Gross.

Most of the art collection was acquired just before the 2002 opening of the expanded library. Many of the purchases were funded by New York City's "Percent for Art" law, which ensures that public spaces are graced with art. Numerous other works were acquired through gifts and some are on loan.

The new online catalogue, which was posted to the Web in late August, displays digital reproductions and brief written descriptions, also available on podcast, that offer insights into the works and the artists. The catalogue features over 60 works of art from the collection. Suggested readings and links to sites that provide contextual information about the work, as well as to museum and gallery exhibitions, is included in the Web page documents.

For on-site viewing, the library is now offering an audio tour of works available to the public. The audio tour presents about 20 selected works, according to Associate Professor Miriam Deutch, the chair of the Library Art Acquisition committee.

Deutch also notes that the library is launching a new effort to promote its art collection. "We are offering an award of five hundred dollars for the best response to any work of art in the library," she says. "We hope the campaign, entitled 'Re-Discover the Museum Inside the Library,' makes people aware of the new online catalogue and the audio tour."

Responses to the campaign can be sent in the form of writing, art, or music; entries and inquiries should be addressed to Professor Deutch at the Brooklyn College Library.

You may access the online art collection at http://library.brooklyn.cuny.edu/art/index.html.