The exhibit includes somewhat rare posters and unique announcements, plus published brochures and pamphlets describing the work of rising new artists on the world scene who eventually received international influence and global acclaim in museums, galleries, and at art auctions. Some of the artists selected for the show include Frida Kahlo, Jackson Pollock, Andrew Wyeth, and New Jersey’s own Ben Shahn. Pamphlets describing the frescoes of Diego Rivera are small in size, but of value to those interested in the work of this prominent Mexican artist of the 20th century whose murals are viewed today at New York's Rockefeller Center, and the Detroit Museum. The pamphlets with text by Carlos Merida were published in 1937 by the Frances Teer Studies in Mexico. There is also a selection of information on Rivera’s wife, Frida Kahlo, whose works are currently on view to enormous acclaim at the prestigious Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Publications and posters devoted to American artist Helen Frankenthaler are on display. Her paintings were developed as she worked on them, and not from sketches prepared in advance. Thus, viewers enjoy her poetic freedom as viewed in the completed paintings. Considerable space is allotted to Pablo Picasso as his influence was enormous and without parallel in the eventual development of 20th century art concepts. The show includes a number of amusing portraits of the artist from a special issue of LIFE magazine in December 1968, plus Picasso posters from the 1950s and ‘60s.

These nostalgic and valuable recent art history materials on view at the Library are part of a reservoir of several thousand posters and printed data on a multitude of painters, sculptors, architects, and printmakers now maintained by the Library's Special Collections division to assist students, researchers, and visual art enthusiasts.

Other artists' work and careers in this display include Franz Kline, Georgia O’Keeffe, Jasper Johns, James Rosenquist, Gustav Klimt, and Georges Braque. Jacob Lawrence and Rockwell Kent, celebrated American artists, are recognized as major contributors to the international art scene.

William J. Dane, Keeper of Prints, Posters and Works of Art on Paper, selected the artists and scores of unique items on display to spread the news about extensive art history holdings of interest to a growing art community in Newark.

The exhibit is open to all without charge in the Library’s third-floor gallery during library hours from July 2 to August 30, 2008. For more information, please call the Library at 973-733-7745.