April is National Library Month and Poetry Month and libraries in Andover, North Andover and Lawrence have acquired more tools to celebrate both.
Brian Allen, director of the Addison Gallery of American Art at Phillips Academy, donated 35 catalogs of art exhibits at the gallery over the past 15 years.
"We are just thrilled to receive such a wonderful gift," said Mary Rose Quinn, director of Stevens Memorial Library in North Andover. "Art books are very expensive and very much appreciated by our patrons, which is why we're so pleased and excited to receive them."
Most of the catalogs were published solely by the Addison Gallery, while others were done in conjunction with Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press, Cambridge; Howard Greenberg Gallery, New York; Princeton University Architectural Press, Princeton, N.J.; Twin Palms Publisher, Santa Fe, N.M.; American Federation of Arts, New York; University of Washington Press, Seattle; and Yale University Press, New Haven, Conn.
In addition to Lawrence, Andover and North Andover, libraries in North Reading and Tewksbury also received the catalogs because of their proximity to Andover, Allen said.
"We were happy to do that. The gallery is part of our local heritage," Allen said.
Addison Gallery was established in 1931 and houses 12,000 pieces of artwork — paintings, photographs and sculpture — from prominent American artists, including Gilbert Charles Stuart, John Singleton Copley, Benjamin West, Winslow Homer, James McNeill Whistler, John Singer Sargent and Georgia O'Keeffe. The gallery also has photographs by Walker Evans, Edward Maybridge, Berenice Abbott, Robert Frank and Hollis Frampton.
Addison Gallery is closed while it undergoes a $30 million renovation and expansion. Allen said the expansion is on schedule and the gallery will reopen in late April 2010. It still needs to raise $7 million out of the $30 million goal.
"The thought occurred to me, the Addison may be closed, but we still can do something for the community," Allen said.
He acknowledged art books are expensive, costing up to $75 each, which makes them out of reach for cash-strapped libraries. The high price has to do with the color photographs and the quality paper used.
Both Quinn in North Andover and Maureen Nimmo, director of the Lawrence Public Library, are in the process of cataloging the books to have them on the shelves soon.
"I remember seeing some of the exhibits and to have the catalogs is doubly fun and exciting," Nimmo said. "Having the books gives it a local feel even though the artists are not because of the relationship with the neighboring towns and cities."
At Memorial Hall Library in Andover, the catalogs are already on the shelves, said director James Sutton.
"It's a wonderful opportunity for people in Andover to learn about the kinds of art that have been shown in the Addison Gallery right here in town," Sutton said. "By having these catalogs, it makes them more available because they are so far reaching."
Sutton said he is also happy to have the catalog of previous shows at the Addison because it is one of the few galleries in the country exhibiting American art.
"Our patrons also learn that art is not just found in big cities, also here in Andover," Sutton said. "It's a great opportunity for our library patrons to have these materials because they can learn more about American art."
