Changing Exhibits /
Gallery Schedule
/
Permanent Collection/Gallery
Application
Prendergast Library has two art galleries. One houses
the permanent collection, and the other displays
changing exhibits
by local or regional artists.
Prendergast Library
provides an exhibit space for local and regional artists to display their
work. It also allows area residents to view art works without
traveling long distances to major cities. An application form for
artists interested in exhibiting is available at the Reference Desk.
The smaller gallery of
changing exhibits offers nine shows each year of work in varied media such
as paintings, ceramics, photography, sculpture, artist's books, and
miniatures. Some of the shows are by individual artists, and others
feature the work of groups. Most exhibits run five weeks and open with a
reception from 6:30p.m. to 8:30p.m. There is no charge to view the exhibits,
but donations are appreciated.
2009 ARTISTS AT PRENDERGAST LIBRARY ART GALLERY
God’s Creations, My Inspirations
Photography by Suzette A. Paduano
Jan. 9 – Feb. 6
The Annual Exhibit
by Chautauqua County Art Teachers
Feb. 13 – March 13
Compass Points
Photography by Dan Swackhammer
March 20 – April 24
Mad Women and Immoral Wallpaper
By Debra Eck
May 1 – June 5
SanScapes
Collages by Sandra J. Ecklund
June 26 – July 24
Watercolors by
Sara Lawrence Skillman
July 31 – Sept. 4
Neighboring Views
Works in Watercolor and Clay
By Elliott Hutten and Robin Zefers Clark
Sept. 11 – Oct. 16
Melange of Fabrics
By Fiber Artist
Medis Kent
Oct. 23 – Nov. 27
Heather L. Miller
Drawing and Painting
Dec. 4 – Jan. 2
Registration sheets are available at each show for patrons to leave their name and address if they wish to be added to the art gallery mailing list and to comment on the works in that particular show. If you wish to be added to the mailing list or if you have any suggestions about our gallery program, please e-mail the Reference Department at reference@cclslib.org.
Permanent Collection
Prendergast Library has an outstanding collection of late nineteenth-and early twentieth- century paintings in its permanent collection.
James Prendergast, the son of Alexander and Mary Prendergast, had expressed a wish to establish a free public library, and after his death, his mother dedicated herself to the building, furnishing, and opening of the Prendergast Library as a memorial to her son. Upon her death, she bequeathed $25,000 for the purchase of the art collection, which now hangs in the Fireplace Room, the reading room of the original library.
At the Front Desk, patrons may view or purchase copies of A Mirror up to Nature, a catalog created in 1984 to describe these paintings. Patrons may see the permanent collection if they attend a meeting or reception in the Fireplace Room or if they take a tour of the library.
Mrs. Prendergast also gave the family portraits painted by Daniel Huntington, the leading portrait painter of his time. These are displayed in the library itself.