See more objects with the tag books, trompe l'oeil, Imitative, literature, libraries, book shelves.

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Object Timeline

1989

  • Work on this object began.

1990

  • Work on this object ended.

1998

  • We acquired this object.

2013

2025

  • You found it!

Sidewall, Bibliotheque

This is a sidewall. It is dated 1989–90 and we acquired it in 1998. Its medium is screen printed on paper. It is a part of the Wallcoverings department.

Bookcase wallpaper by muralist and trompe l’oeil painter Richard Lowell Neas, expressing his Francophile nature, and love of travel and gardens. Neas has picked up on details common to many libraries, from the slightly torn book jackets, to the cut paper and exquisite ribbon page markers, to books laid on their sides because they fit.

This object was donated by Gladys Edelman. It is credited Gift of Hank and Gladys Edelman.

Its dimensions are

266.7 x 86.4 cm (105 x 34 in. )

Cite this object as

Sidewall, Bibliotheque; USA; screen printed on paper; 266.7 x 86.4 cm (105 x 34 in. ); Gift of Hank and Gladys Edelman; 1997-159-1

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<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://www-4.collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/18666933/ |title=Sidewall, Bibliotheque |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=11 February 2025 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>