Please join us to launch the Joel Myerson Annual Lecture Series: "After Lives: Bringing Una Hawthorne Home," presented by Prof. Megan Marshall, Thursday, April 27, 2023, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. in the Goodwin Forum at the Main Library. The series is generously sponsored by the Concord Free Public Library Corporation.
Please note - this exhibition is held at the Concord Museum, not the Library. The Concord Museum welcomes you to a new special exhibition, A Perpetual Invitation: 150 Years of Art at the Concord Free Public Library. To celebrate the Concord Free Public Library's 150th anniversary, the Concord Museum, the Concord Free Public Library, and the Concord Free Public Library Corporation’s William Munroe Special Collections have collaborated on a special exhibition featuring over thirty works from the William Munroe Special Collections, including rarely seen works. The exhibition runs from March 24 through September 4, 2023. [Learn More]
Join author Ilyon Woo who will discuss her new book Master Slave Husband Wife: An Epic Journey From Slavery to Freedom on Thursday, March 30, 2023, 7:00 - 8:00 p.m. in the Goodwin Forum of the Main Library. The true story of William and Ellen Craft, a couple who escaped slavery through daring, determination, and disguise, with Ellen passing as a wealthy, disabled White man and William posing as “his” slave. This event is being co-sponsored by the Concord Free Public Library (CFPL) and the CFPL Corporation’s William Munroe Special Collections. [Learn More and Register]
On Saturday, March 4, 2023, from 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m., in the Rotunda of the Main Library, conservators from Skylight Studios will be cleaning Daniel Chester French's Seated Ralph Waldo Emerson and will be open to questions during the process. The work will involve multiple applications of a diluted, non-corrosive acid-free soap that will clean accumulated dirt from the surface of the marble. Open to all. Registrations are not required.
On Thursday, March 2, 2023 at 7:00 p.m. via Zoom, please join Robert Shure, an expert sculptor and conservator of sculpture LIVE from his studio to learn about the process and technique of the American sculptor of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Daniel Chester French. Robert Shure is the president of Skylight Studios, Inc. and Caproni Collection, LLC. Robert has accumulated over 40 years of hands-on experience working in the field of sculpture. [Learn More and Register]
Please join the Library's William Munroe Special Collections for the opening of the exhibit Daniel Chester French: Art & Enterprise in Concord on Thursday, February 2, 2023, 7:00 - 8:00 p.m. in the Goodwin Forum of the Main Library. The evening will feature a presentation titled "From the Minute Man to the Melvin Memorial: Daniel Chester French and his Concord Connections" by Dana Pilson of Chesterwood, the historic home of Daniel Chester French, America's foremost late 19th to early 20th-century sculptor. The event is sponsored by the Concord Free Public Library Corporation. [Learn More and Register]
Music from the Library 2023 starts in February. The series includes three Saturday night concerts in the Rotunda featuring works by Ravel, Debussy, Stravinsky, and Donald Martino, the last three Beethoven sonatas, and works from the Renaissance. Generously sponsored by the Friends of the Concord Free Public Library. Free admission. Advance registrations are required. [Learn More]
Join Richard T. T. Forman for a presentation titled Concord From Above the Trees: Copter Ecology Views on Thursday, January 26, 2023, 7:00 - 8:00 p.m. at the Main Library. The presentation will feature aerial photography recently captured, plus selections from the holdings of the William Munroe Special Collections of the Concord Free Public Library. Open to all. Registrations are required. [Register]
In December 2022 on view in the Gallery are selected portraits from the Library Special Collections' art collection. The Concord Free Public Library is home to a unique art collection that emphasizes Concord, Massachusetts's history, people, and culture. From its founding in 1873, art has had a special place within the Library. The Library immediately began taking in the art upon opening the doors with art pieces like David Scott's Ralph Waldo Emerson, Daniel Chester French's bust of Simon Brown, and William James Stillman's The Philosophers' Camp in the Adirondacks. [Read More]
Dr. Andrea Resciniti's giant gingerbread house 2022 is on display in the Main Library Lobby through Sunday, January 15. This is the 28th gingerbread house Dr. Resciniti, a surgeon at Emerson Hospital, has crafted and donated to the Concord Free Public Library since 1993. The freshly baked gingerbread house contains 34 batches of gingerbread and weighs over 100 pounds. We thank Dr. Resciniti for her time and generosity.
