Romare Bearden, an African-American artist who was part of the great Harlem Renaissance, was known for his cartoons, collages, and murals. Now, two of Bearden massive murals have been installed in the Hartford Public Library.
The huge works posed a challenge to the movers, not because of their weight, but because they could not risk tearing the canvas.
The murals had been hanging at the XL Center. They were removed, cleaned, resealed, and stored at Mariano Brothers, which has a warehouse in Bethel. The massive artworks have been appraised at $4.2m for the pair. In 1980, the city paid Bearden a $100,000 commission for the works.
The smaller is called ‘Olympics’, and has a sports theme; the second is a tribute to the arts, and is called ‘Untitled’.
The library had to be prepared before the murals could arrive on site. The works were too big to fit through any of the library’s doors, so windows were removed from the Arch Street side of the library. The murals were brought to the library before sunrise Friday, October 3, and hoisted through the opening. The entire move and installation took more than five hours and, when it was finished, onlookers burst into applause.
Library officials could work with brochure printers to create a piece for distribution at the library that discusses the works, their history, and Bearden’s career.
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