Art Walk - Sandusky Library

Sandusky Library’s Art Collection
The Sandusky Library building encompasses three integrated structures,
including two National Register of Historic Landmarks. The original Carnegie
Library, built in 1901, is on the east end; the former Erie County Jail, built in 1883,
on the west.
The New Addition, built in 2003, connects the two limestone landmarks. With
This innovative re-use of historic space, Sandusky Library now stands among the
most architecturally unique libraries in the country.
An art collection exhibited throughout the library conveys the same continuity
of past and present. The collection reflects the community’s longstanding love of the
sea, the birds of the surrounding wetlands, and the simple beauty of the local
scenery.
All of the artwork has been donated by various individuals throughout the
library’s 100-year history. For those who have shared such treasured gifts, we are
most grateful.
The Adams Street Lobby Art Glass Windows, 1901
Jessie May Livermore
“The two windows in the Loggia are constructed with a border of illuminated opalescent glass.
The tonality of these windows is imperial green. But the summit of the range of brilliancy of
art glass is not reached until one comes to the main entrance and views the doors and transom
lights. In these are massed one solid collection of sparkling jewels in illuminated opalescence.
The art glass is especially designed for each window by Miss Jessie Livermore, of Chicago.
It seems especially fitting that the designing of the art windows in a building to be managed by
women representing an association made up entirely of women should have been done by a
woman.” from The Sandusky Register, May 22, 1901
Jessie May Livermore (1870-1935) spent the majority of her life in Chicago, working as a
teacher in the Chicago Public Schools for 37 years. Her father, Colonel Darius Livermore, resided
in Sandusky before the Civil War and later established a successful art decorative business in
Chicago. He was awarded the contract for the library’s art glass windows, which Jessie designed.
Mural of a Bird’s Eye View of Sandusky, Ohio 1898
James T. Palmatary
This 9x4 foot enlargement in the Adams Street Lobby is one of six urban American viewpoints by
lithographer James T. Palmatary. The viewpoint was printed by Gugler Lithographic Company and
published by lvord-Peters Company.
The original is in the collection of the Follett House Museum.
George William Albert Koch
George William Albert Koch was born in Germany on July 28, 1878. He immigrated to the United States
at the age of 14. He graduated from the Pratt Institute in New York and worked as a freelance artist in
Mystic, Connecticut, for several years. He moved to Sandusky in 1921 and served as the Art Director of
the American Crayon Company until his death in 1947.
Winter, 1944
Landscape, undated
American Crayon Company Poster
Corinne Ringel Bailey
A poster advertising Old Faithful Playsets of crayons, paints, stencils, and modeling materials
from the American Crayon Company is exhibited in the library’s Preschool Playroom. The American
Crayon Company was founded in Sandusky in 1835 and operated until 1957. Corinne Ringel Bailey
was an illustrator of children’s books for the Saalfield Publishing Company in Akron, Ohio, in the 1930s.
John James Audubon
John James Audubon (1785-1851) was the first artist-naturalist to create life-sized illustrations of
American birds in natural poses and habitats. The Birds of America consist of 435 prints of more
than 450 species of birds. The prints were issued between 1826 and 1838. Fewer than 175 folios
of all 435 prints were completed. The prints were engraved on copper plates, printed in black and
white, and then hand-colored, chiefly by Robert Havell. Audubon’s artistic achievement remains to
this day the standard of its genre.
Plate CCXI Great Blue Heron,
1834 Havell Edition
Plate LXVI Ivory Billed Woodpecker,
1834 Havell Edition
Plate LVI Red-shouldered Hawk,
1834 Havell Edition
Antique Bookcase
“The ladies of the Public Library are now
ready to receive and properly display and securely
preserve historic relics of Erie County and the
Firelands. Mrs. James Woolworth of Sandusky has
presented a handsome large case or cupboard with
glass doors and drawers provided with locks. The
ladies are anxious to stock the room with early
records, equipments, papers and documents of early
days having historic interest.”
from The
Sandusky Register, April 21, 1902
Mr. and Mrs. James Woolworth sold their
home on Adams Street in 1898 to the Library
Association of Sandusky as the future site of the
Carnegie Library. The donation of her ornately
carved bookcase to display historic relics represents
the beginning of the library’s local history collection.
In 1976, the library purchased the four-storied Oran
Follett House on Wayne Street to showcase its
extensive collection of artifacts, furnishings, art,
photographs, and other memorabilia.
Thatched Cottage, 1883
William Henry Hilliard
William Henry Hilliard (1836-1905) was born in Auburn, New York, and became an accomplished
landscape, still life, and portrait painter. He studied in New York City, and during the 1880s, he
studied abroad in Paris and England. While in Europe, he worked under Emile Lambinet, a Barbizon
painter known for his Normandy landscapes. Hilliard is represented in a number of museums. This oil
painting apparently dates from his English period as it is a typical English cottage and garden. Among
his best known works are a portrait of President James Garfield, the tomb of John Howard Payne
(author of Home, Sweet Home), and the paintings The Flight Above the Clouds, Battle-Field of
Lookout Mountain and Allatoona Pass, Georgia.
Windmill, late 19th century
Artist Unknown, unsigned canvas
World War I Posters
On April 13, 1917, President Woodrow
Wilson created the Committee on Public
Information to promote World War I
domestically while publicizing American
war aims abroad. Headed by Charles
Dana Gibson, the CPI’s Division of
Pictorial Publicity turned out 1,484 poster
designs in 19 months. Many of the posters
were created by the most talented
advertising illustrators and cartoonists of
the time. The Sandusky Library Archives
contains more than 600 World War I
posters, including these restored American
Library Association posters.
Knowledge Wins
Dan Smith (1865-1934)
World War I Posters cont…
Books Wanted
Hey Fellows
Charles Buckles Falls (1874-1960)
John E. Sheridan (1880-1948)
World War I poster images from World War I Poster Collection, Manuscripts Division, University
of Minnesota Libraries, Minneapolis, MN. Permission to use granted by American Library Association.
Map of the United States of America, ca 1795-1800
Bowles & Carver
The Map of the United States with Territories belonging to Great Britain and Spain is a hand-colored late
18th century folio sheet map issued in London by Henry Carington Bowles and Samuel Carver. The map
features the original 13 states, with Louisiana and Florida colored as Spanish possessions. In the lower
right corner of the map are the terms of Article III of the Treaty of 1783, which gives the United States
permission to fish in the waters off the territories belonging to Great Britain.
Bowles & Carver cartouche, which is a
decorative design surrounding the title panel.
Gladys and Dog (featuring the artist’s
daughter)
Charles F. Shuck
“Mr. Charles F. Shuck, the artist, who
announces a final sale of his pictures previous to
closing his studio in this city, will soon leave after
the holidays for Paris where he will pursue his
studies under the instruction of a leading master in
that renowned center of art, and in the midst of
great works of ancient and modern artists. He is
one of the rising young artists of our country, and
will be heard from in the great field of art in the
future. A rare opportunity is thus given to our
people to secure paintings of genuine merit from
the brush of an artist of their own city, and at the
same time
patronize a young artist well-deserving it.”
from The Sandusky Register, November 12, 1888
Charles Francis Shuck (1868-1896) was
born in Cumberland, Maryland, and moved with his
family to Sandusky at the age of 17. He drowned
in a boating accident on Lake Erie on July 4, 1896.
According to his obituary, he received his only art
instruction from Mrs. John Hudson, of Sandusky,
and apparently never fulfilled his dream of
traveling to Paris to study art.
Charles F. Shuck cont…
Autumn Road
Windmills at Sunset
Charles F. Shuck cont….
Shoreline
Naval Heroes of the United States, 1846
Currier & Ives
The prolific partnership of lithographers Nathaniel Currier and James Merritt Ives produced 7,500
different titles, with more than a million prints from 1835-1907. Describing themselves as “printers of cheap
and popular pictures,” they produced a pictorial history of the country’s growth from an agricultural to an
industrialized society. Their colored prints cover a wide range of topics, including disaster scenes,
sentimental images, sports, humor, politics, religion, transportation, and historical figures.
Naval Heroes portrays Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry and five other American naval officers who
fought in the Battle of Lake Erie in the War of 1812.
Perry’s Victory at Lake Erie, undated
Kurz & Allison
A native of Salzburg, Austria, Louis Kurz (1835-1921) came to the United States in 1848 and launched
his career as a lithographer in the 1860s. He became known as the “father of Chicago art” for his role
in co-founding the Chicago Academy of Design. His most famous work is a set of 36 lithographs of Civil
War battles, which he produced in partnership with engraver Alexander Allison. Kurz & Allison
lithography was known for its elaborate workmanship, bright colors and dramatic action.
Perry’s Victory at Lake Erie, an undated chromolithograph, was a popular Kurz & Allison image used
on flags and other commemoratives by the Perry Centennial Committee in 1913.
Arnold G. Scheele
Still Life with Bottle, undated
Arnold G. Scheele (1886-1973) grew up
on Kelleys Island, which undoubtedly
accounted for his interest in painting
seascapes. He began painting at the age of 11
with private lessons from Mrs. Shelfon, the
local physician’s wife, and he credits her as
perhaps his greatest
inspiration in shaping his future as an
artist. He received Bachelor and Master of Arts
degrees
from Oberlin College. After having taught
at the University of Illinois and serving as Dean
of the Commercial Art School, Chicago, he
taught for 26 years at Michigan State
University. He retired as Professor Emeritus
and head of the Art Department in 1945. In
1925, he was named one of America’s 100
Best Artists by the National Artists League. His
paintings have been exhibited at Michigan
State University, Kelleys Island Town Hall,
Oberlin College, Denison University and
Sandusky Library.
The Scheele paintings are showcased
throughout the library. Many are water scenes
that reveal his fascination with sunlight on the
water, at the beginning or the ending of the
day.
Arnold G. Scheele cont…
Gray Ships, 1927
Arnold G. Scheele cont…
Mountains and Lake, 1950
Thank you for viewing the virtual tour of the Sandusky Library Art Collection. The works
shown here are a select few of the many pieces on display at the Sandusky Library.
If you have any questions, please contact Reference Services at 419-625-3834.