Mentor Library Teams With Cleveland Museum Of Art For Special Arts Program

Mentor Public Library will host a pair of events this evening (April 11) at that should delight art lovers.

At 7 p.m., it will launch its new Arts to Go series with the help of docents from the Cleveland Museum of Art.

The docents will show how the ancient Greek and Roman cultures had a direct impact on later western art. 

As part of their presentation, they will bring genuine works of classical art from the museum to examine, including the sculptured heads of Roman gods, ceramic vases, an oil lamp and a sling bullet.

This program is free to the public, though the library asks that you register for it.

Also, at 6:30 p.m. on April 25, the library's will discuss "Stealing Athena." The novel tells the tale of two women -- one of whom convinced power brokers from the Ottoman Empire to allow her husband to take sculptures from the Parthenon, the famed Elgin Marbles, to foreign museums.

As a special treat, Karen Essex -- the author of "Stealing Athena" -- will join the book club via Skype.

"The Art-to-Go program on classical art is a perfect backdrop for the discussion of 'Stealing Athena,'" said Hauer. "We are excited that Karen will speak about the raging controversy over the Elgin Marbles.

“This is a hot topic. Today, countries such as Greece and Italy are asking museums -- including the Cleveland Museum of Art -- to return objects from antiquity to their country of origin. Programs, such as these, increase our understanding of the impact of Greek and Roman art on Western art."

Both programs are offered free to the public and have been sponsored by the Friends of the Mentor Public Library. For more information, please contact Hauer at barbara.hauer@mentorpl.org or call 440-255-8811 ext. 210.

Finally, the library is hosting a field trip on May 8 to the Cleveland Museum of Art to check out its exhibit, Rembrandt in America. It is the first major exhibition to explore in depth the collecting of Rembrandt paintings in America.

The exhibition consists of about 50 works. They include paintings autographed by Rembrandt as well as others thought to be by the artist.

Open to the first 24 people to sign up, tickets will be $10 payable upon registration at the Reference Desk at the Main branch of Mentor Public Library.