Art in the Library

Libraries all over the world feature artwork in many formats, such as paintings, sculptures, murals and other design elements. Art not only creates visual interest on a blank wall, but it also connects our community through shared experiences. Works of art in a library can promote reading and literacy by encouraging us to better understand the world around us.

Did you know CPL owns 30 pieces of artwork? Let’s take an art walk around the library and learn about some interesting facts about art.  

Kinetic Wind Sculpture

As you walk up to the library’s entrance you may observe, on the right side, an artistic creation made of steel and glass. Kinetic Wind Sculpture was created by Seattle-based sculptor Andrew Carson. It blends the functionality of mechanics and sophistication.

The artwork is made of stainless steel and blown glass. On a windy day, the glass blades will move in the direction of the wind. On sunny days, the blades also catch sunlight.

Kinetic Wind Sculpture was installed and dedicated in memory of John O. Schwartz III in 2007 by the Friends of the Canton Public Library. Mr. Schwartz was the library’s building manager after he retired from his garden nursery on Lilley Road. He also served as an original library trustee who helped establish the library in the Canton community.

Bedtime Story

 Just beyond the library’s front entrance on the left wall is a large, circular resin relief of a mother and child reading a book. The art piece, Bedtime Story, was created by Joseph Nicola DeLauro (1916-2006). It was donated by the artist in 2001, a longtime Canton resident.

An accomplished sculptor, DeLauro founded the arts department at the University of Windsor, where he also taught. He influenced and inspired many art students at the University of Windsor, Marygrove College, and the University of Detroit. Can you find where the artist signed his sculpture?

The Storyteller

On the large print shelves is a bronze figure of a barefoot man resting on a square oak base. His cloak covers most of his body, except for his hands on his ankle and knee. On the back of his head, his hair is wrapped in a bun. He stares intently forward, perhaps in deep thought about what story to tell. This artwork, The Storyteller, was created and donated by sculptor Joseph DeLauro in 1990.

If you look closely, you can see the brush strokes etched in the dark patina. It is one of the oldest art sculptures acquired by the library. Can you find the signature on this piece?

Map of Canton

On the side wall of the fireplace is the oldest art piece at the library. The framed print, Map of Canton, is a replica of the detailed official atlas of Wayne County in 1891. The Friends of the Canton Public Library purchased this replica in 1981.

Beginning in the Township’s founding in 1982, the population was about 1,333 people. Farming was the main source of income for the Canton residents. Corn was the main crop, but most farms had an abundance of livestock. If you look closely, you’ll find the landowners’ names on the plots they owned.

To see an original, you’d have to visit the Library of Congress. Can you find 10 little houses?

Lord Byron’s Compendium of Books

Lord Byron was one of Britain’s greatest poets and a fashionable literary figure of the Romantic movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. One of his most engaging and controversial poems is "She Walks in Beauty.”

This circular metal art piece, Lord Byron’s Compendium of Books, is comprised of 16 faux books in a muted color palette.

Former staff member Joseph Lary and his wife, Sally, donated the art piece in 2016. They purchased it from Design Toscano, an online source for historical replicas. It hangs in front of a study table and chairs near the fireplace.

Oceanside

Oceanside was donated by the Van Auken family in 2013 in memory of Edison Van Auken. It is located in the library's media area.

Originally painted by contemporary artist, Dennis Dascher, this is a giclee print reproduction on canvas. The art of giclee printing involves a high-resolution inkjet printer to exactly resemble the original. The seascape and color palette evoke the fluidity and stillness of a calm ocean.

Music Is Universal

Music is an art form, considered universal because it transcends all barriers to connect people.

Music Is Universal is located on the blue wall facing the music CDs. It is a large papier mâché relief encased in a glassed shadow box. The natural white color of the papier mâché depicts 19 musical composers. It was created and donated by the sculptor and longtime Canton resident, Delphine Rusaki, in 2002.

In the center of the art piece is a torn music sheet, “Notturno,” written in 1891 by Norwegian composer and pianist Edvard Grieg. Nocturnal or “night music” is meant to evoke a sense of calm, peaceful rest.

The composers surrounding the sheet music are (in alpha order): Johann Sebastian Bach, Irvin Berlin, Ludvig van Beethoven, Leonard Bernstein, Johannes Brahms, Frederic Chopin, Aaron Copeland, Duke Ellington, Jerome Kern, Franz Liszt, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Cole Porter, Sergei Rachmaninov, Maurice Ravel, John Phillip Sousa, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Giuseppe Verdi.

Evening Solitude

This painting, Evening Solitude (1990), is by Terry Redlin (1937-2016), who grew up during the Great Depression in South Dakota and painted what he loved: rural America. As a boy, he loved exploring the nearby lakes and woods around his home. His use of earthy colors, bright sunrises and muted sunsets.

This painting was purchased by the library in 2014 and is located by the window near the video games.

Morning Solitude

This painting, Morning Solitude (1989), is also by Terry Redlin (1937-2016) and depicts an outdoor enthusiast’s ideal campsite.

On the left, a camper and his four-legged friend are ready to shove off after loading their fishing gear to catch an early lunch. As the sun rises deep in the woods, two white-tailed deer observe the scene in quiet solitude. Terry Redlin loved painting wildlife and landscapes in tranquil settings.

Leda and the Swan

Reclining upon a grey granite base sits a replica of a bronze figure of a woman and a swan. The sculpture depicts a Greek mythological scene of Zeus disguised as a swan seducing the Spartan queen Leda. It is based on the original by French sculptor Jean-Baptiste Auguste Clesinger (1814-1883).

The library acquired Leda and the Swan in 1993, a gift from longtime Canton resident Alfredo Cordero. It currently rests on a shelf in the large print collection.

The Horse Thief

By the corner window overlooking the Wings of Wonder Butterfly Garden near the Co-Lab, is a replica of a bronze figure of a Native American hiding under a buffalo hide on horseback. His head is turned back, evading pursuit. He hangs onto the horse’s mane, riding bareback wearing a buckskin and moccasins. A knife is sheathed at his side. The base is made of black marble.

It was donated to the library as a gift by Andrew Cordero in 1993. This sculpture, The Horse Thief, is based on the original by artist Frederic Remington (1861-1909). During the late 1880s, Remington traveled the American West in hopes of recording the vanishing wilderness.

The original artwork was cast using the traditional lost wax process in 1907. It is displayed at the Gilcrease Museum located in Tulsa, Oklahoma. 

Tranquility

This original artwork, Tranquility, was purchased by the library in 2015. The painting is acrylic on stretched canvas by a local landscape artist, Cornelis van Spronsen. It’s located on the brick wall above the fireplace.

Van Spronsen was born in the Netherlands and has been painting since he got his first oil paints at the age of 12. For 25 years, he has owned an art studio. The mediums he prefers when he paints are watercolors, acrylics and oil-based paint. He loves travel journaling and enjoys the tranquility of landscapes.

The Bookworm

This painting depicts an elderly scholar standing on the last step of a library ladder in front of rows and rows of dusty volumes. He is totally absorbed in the open book without a concern for the outside world, only for the past. The library is illuminated by sunlight, perhaps from a domed window of this ornate library.

This artwork, The Bookworm, is in a beautiful golden frame and can be found on the brick wall of the fireplace. It is a replica of the 1850 oil-on-canvas painting, Der Bucherwurm, by German painter and poet Carl Spitzweg (1808-1885).

The original is on permanent loan at the Grohmann Museum located on the campus of the Milwaukee School of Engineering. Can you find the globe in the painting?

Kneeling Archer

The library’s newest artwork, Kneeling Archer, is located in front of the brick wall of the fireplace. This replica was donated in May 2025 by long-time library patrons and Canton residents, Shan Lu and Guiyu Sun.

Kneeling Archer is a reproduction of a warrior soldier unearthed in the tomb of China’s first emperor, Qin Shi Huang (259-210 B.C.).

The Terracotta Army was handcrafted to guard the emperor in the afterlife. These sculptured figures made of terracotta clay were discovered by farmers who were digging around a burial mound near Xi’an, China, in 1974. In the mausoleum, archaeologists discovered more than 8,000 life-size, 130 clay chariots and 570 horses within the tomb.

Pineapple Log Cabin

This handmade quilt, Pineapple Log Cabin, was produced during the Great Depression from cotton scraps and wool fragments from men’s coats. The library purchased the quilt in 2001, and it is located on the southwest wall, near the sunny seating area and Michigan history collections.

The log cabin pattern was popular during the Civil War and was made to honor President Abraham Lincoln, featuring pineapples as an international symbol of hospitality.

In this quilting pattern, the central square or hearth is surrounded by eight overlapping logs. The hearth is a symbol of home, warmth and comfort. There are many shades of green, blue and red interwoven in the fabric layers.

Helianthus

This framed painted photograph, Helianthus, is by Canadian artist Cynthia Davis. There are about 70 species of Helianthus annuus, otherwise known as sunflowers. They vary in height, color and bloom size. Sunflowers are native to North America and prefer wide open spaces with lots of sun.

Acrylic is Davis’s preferred art medium, but she enjoys using papier mâché, ceramics and pottery. This artwork was purchased and donated by longtime resident and CPL staff member Marian Nicholson in 2016. It is located on one of the columns at the southwest end of the library near the fiction collection.

Devon Carnishe-England

This framed seriolithograph is called Devon Carnishe-England by Ukrainian painter Anatole Krasnyansky (1930-2023). He was born in Kyiv, Ukraine and emigrated to the United States in 1975 to escape communist rule.

A seriolithograph is a combination of serigraphy (a fine art stencil printing technique) and lithography (a process involving a stone or metal plate that is treated to hold ink, which is then transferred to paper) to create a reproduction of art.

This framed artwork, painted in 2005, depicts a curved bridge against a vibrant English town beneath a cloudy sky. It is located on one of the columns near fiction in the southwest area of the library.

Vintage Mola Panels

The library purchased this tapestry, Vintage Mola Panels, in 2001. “Mola” is the Kuna Indian word for cloth. Mola refers to brightly colored, intricately patterned textiles produced by artisans of the San Blas Islands of Panama.

The method for creating mola has remained the same for over a century and is traditionally passed down from one generation to the next. Mola designs and textiles derive from the tradition of body painting and tattooing. It is a complex process of layering, folding and stitching to construct panels for a garment.

You’ll find this tapestry along the wall between Quiet Study and Group Study Room A.

Fairy with Flute

This concrete statue, Fairy with Flute, is located at the center of a small courtyard within the library. Surrounded by greenery, the boy playing a flute is a garden figure cast in concrete with the imprint "Henri Studio" on its base. It’s visible from four rooms: the Quiet Study Room, the Community Room, Teen Space, and Group Study Room A.

Garden sculptures gained significance and popularity when King Louis XIV commissioned a prominent French sculptor to create the beautiful Gardens of Versailles. Do you plan to add a statue to your backyard garden?

Los Cuentos

Los Cuentos, or “The Stories,” is by international artist Amado Pena. This 1994 lithograph presents vibrant color, emphasizing the importance of art and stories in the lives of Indigenous women.

This artwork features a group of women: a young girl, her mother, an older sister, and a ghostly image of an elderly woman who is handing down the tradition of storytelling.

Such a painting suggests how stories are a form of art and are an important part of our family and cultural heritage. Words are conveyed through the medium of paint and remind us of our shared human experience of bringing together the community through storytelling. Stories sustain our family, our culture and our collective souls.

Stacks of Books in Forest

This stretched, photographic print on canvas is divided into three equal sections on the large brick wall in Group Study Room A. It’s called Stacks of Books in Forest and was purchased by the library in 2013 from Great Big Canvas.

There are 35 books of varying sizes stacked in a tower on the ground, surrounded by trees. A peaceful retreat from the hustle and bustle of life. The greenery in the background suggests the photograph was taken in late spring, summer or early fall. Books in a forest evoke feelings of quietude and an appreciation for the natural world.

Blue Birches

Blue Birches captivates the viewer with its simplicity of a dense grouping of birch trees against a pale blue sky. Each sleek line of the textured trees brings botanical energy to the room.

The framed painting on canvas is by Canadian artist and designer Lisa Audit. Her artwork evokes a deep connection to nature. In addition to wall décor, she designs art for every room in the home, from bedding to tableware to stationery.

This artwork is in Group Study Room B. It was purchased by the library in 2013 from Great Big Canvas.

Reading is Fun Book Week Nov. 15-21 from 1955

This vintage poster, Reading is Fun Book Week Nov. 15-21 from 1955 by German artist and painter Jan Balet (1913-2009) features three young children gathered on a Hardoy butterfly chair to read with their spotted puppy.

The poster celebrates Children’s Book Week, a national campaign celebrating children’s books and the joy of reading every May and November.

Balet emigrated from Germany in 1938, before the outbreak of World War II. He found success as a commercial illustrator and graphic artist in New York City. In the 1940s and 1950s, his whimsical print ads appeared in numerous magazines like Vogue, Saturday Evening Post and Good Housekeeping. His unique style was an eclectic mix of keen insight into our societal conventions and pure wonderment.

Keeping Our Rivers and Trails Clean

Located near the entrance to the Children’s Library, this large mural was created by over 6,000 children, families, librarians, environmental leaders, teachers, principals and community leaders from across the Canton community.

This mosaic tile mural, "Keeping Our Rivers and Trails Clean," represents a unique collaboration process in which participants use art with a message to share their personal perspectives on solutions to their community’s environmental challenges and the beauty of the nature that surrounds them.

Families not only had a chance to create artwork at special public mural days but also submitted artwork from their schools and connected their artwork creation to an action project in which they participated in helping to clean up the local river and trail network. The library acquired the mural in June 2010.

Michigan Quilt

A homemade quilt called Michigan is located to the right of the Children’s Library entrance and on the wall of the alcove near the Sorter Room. It was made and donated by a former librarian, Kathy Kershner, who worked at CPL from 1998 to 2004.

Michigan features 26 panels depicting nature scenes representing our state, such as wildlife, four seasons, the Great Lakes, a Ford Model T car and the doorway to the Children’s library.

Water is featured in many panels: a loon, a duck, a beaver, a fish, a canoe, a lighthouse and a large shipping vessel on a lake with the Mackinac Bridge in the distance. The center square has the lower and upper peninsulas with pine trees, a bear, a moose and deer.

Storytime

“These pieces represent the joy that comes from being with those you love and immersing yourself in a great story. Sitting back-to-back, bent over their books, anxious to turn the page, ready to explore,” - Gary Lee Price, creator of Storytime.

Storytime is a bronze statue of a young girl and boy reading, sitting upon a granite base, which was acquired in 2001 as a gift from the Friends of the Canton Public Library.

This installation is by American Sculptor Gary Lee Price, and is the focal piece of the Rebecca Havenstein-Coughlin Courtyard. Price’s sculptures are in private and public collections all over the world. CPL has one of them, but there are nine other locations in Michigan that house his artwork.

In spring, when everything is in bloom, it will seem fanciful to imagine two children reading their books aloud to the family of ducks and their ducklings who briefly call our courtyard home.

Everbright Boards

A popular destination in the Children’s library is the Everbright display by Hero Design LLC. The library has two Everbright installations: two minis in the Children’s Library near the baby nook and one in the Teen Space.

It is an accessible and collaborative experience for all ages, much like playing with a LiteBrite, but without the pegs. Patrons can turn the dials and rotate through a spectrum of shades and hues of color as they discover a new way of self-expression. When it’s inactive, the Everbright in the Teen Space will cycle through its own colorful light show.

Tapestry of Faiths

This quilt, Tapestry of Faiths, was created by members of the Plymouth-Canton Interfaith Community Outreach group and donated to the Canton Public Library in 2018. The tapestry represents the faiths celebrated throughout the Plymouth-Canton communities.

Members worked weekends on this project, which demonstrated their commitment to unity and friendship. The goals of the group were to promote an understanding of the diverse faiths and cultures within our community and to build a bridge of understanding and acceptance.

You can view this quilt in the baby nook. The 20 faiths represented within the quilt from the upper left corner and moving clockwise are:

• Mishumaa Candles (Kwanzaa)
• African American Crescent and Star Islam (Nation of Islam)
• Star of David (Judaism)
• Jainism Ahimsa (non-violence)
• Yin Yang (Taoism)
• Advent Candles (Christian)
• Al Kaaba in Mecca (Islam)
• Dharmachakra (Buddhism)
• Namaste (Hindu)
• Celtic Cross (Christian)
• Menorah (Judaism)
• Dove (universal symbol of peace)
• Tree of God (African Ashanti)
• Four Directions (Native American)
• Khanda (Sikh)
• Diwali Lamp or Diya (Hindu)
• Baha'i Star (Baha’i Faith)
• Om (Hindu)
• Fire Pot (Zoroastrianism)
• Pagoda (Japanese Shinto)

A Child’s Wish for America

A Child’s Wish for America is a handmade quilt located in the graphic novels section of the Children’s Library. It was made and donated in 2023 by Canton resident Susan Weaver Schwandt, an art quilter and fiber artist.

The alien spacecraft has embellishments sewn into the fabric to mimic spotlights. If you look closer at the dark space background, stars and half-moons are intricately stitched in, providing a glimpse of the vast universe of galaxies and solar systems. An alien holds a heart in peace and friendship.

The spaceship illuminates the Earth with messages of hope: understanding, forgiveness, empathy, listening, love, peace, kindness, healing and unity.

Tree in Leaf

Near the Friends’ Activity Room and the computers stands a tall tree that reaches for the skylight in the Children’s Library. The tree is surrounded by comfortable seating, perfect for taking a moment to take in your surroundings.

Tree in Leaf is a custom-made installation, purchased by the library on April 14, 2008, by NatureMaker Steel Art Trees.

The tree was hand-sculpted and hand-painted by a professional artisan. It is made from steel and is 87% “botanically correct,” meaning the framework and its life-like foliage are as close to a real maple tree as possible.

Take a virtual tour of the Canton Public Library’s Art Walk on YouTube.