Main Library Art Gallery

The Art Gallery at the Main library presents exhibitions that promote access to and stimulate interest in a wide variety of ideas. The gallery is open during the library’s regular hours. Admission to the gallery is free and the public is welcome to all events.

Art Matters Podcast

Tune in for conversations relating to gallery shows at the Library. Get a peek behind the scenes as gallery coordinator, Liz Coleman, talks about the artwork with visiting artists and other interesting individuals.

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Current Exhibitions

DeLoss McGraw & James Agee: The Nashville Public Library Celebrates the 100-Year Anniversary of James Agee's Birth in Tennessee

June 11 - September 27
Art Gallery, first floor

Artist DeLoss McGraw has been inspired by many authors to create artwork exploring themes from their writing. For this series, celebrating the centennial of the birth of James Agee, he focused on Agee's evocative essay "Knoxville: The Summer of 1915" and two additional poems. His imagery of childhood and nature reflect the beauty of this season.

"The gentle sway of Agee's verse, '...talk is quiet, of nothing in particular, of nothing at all in particular, of nothing at all.' I attempt with my painting's format and design to bring the swinging, rocking cadence parallel to the rhythm of the poem and float these images of comfort like swinging, in a front porch bench swing, that I too remember from my childhood." - DeLoss McGraw

John Adams Unbound

Courtyard Gallery
May 16, 2009 - June 25, 2009

Past Exhibitions

Alan LeQuire: Cultural Heroes

January 23, 2009 – May 31, 2009
Art Gallery, first floor

Alan LeQuire’s bronze doors welcome our patrons to the Main Library on Church Street. This exhibit is a series of oversized portrait heads. The five people currently represented in the sculptures so far are Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday, Leadbelly, Paul Robeson, and Woody Guthrie. A new portrait will be unveiled at a reception on February 19.

Open to the Night: Drawings by Sue Mulcahy

September 27, 2008 – January 4, 2009
Art Gallery, first floor

Sue Mulcahy has taught art and exhibited her abstract drawings for more than 35 years, most recently as part of the Shades of Gray exhibit at the Frist Center for the Visual Arts. This solo show of Mulcahy’s drawings explores a rich visual world rendered in black and white. Artist's reception: Saturday, September 27 from 2-4 p.m. at the gallery.

Beyond the Page: Carol Barton’s Art and Influence

July 13 – August 31, 2008
Main Library, First Floor Art Gallery

Carol Barton is a book artist, teacher, and curator whose work is exhibited internationally and is in numerous collections, including the Library of Congress, the Museum of Modern Art, the Getty Museum, and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

Beyond the Page is an exhibit showcasing Carol Barton’s beautiful books alongside books by local artists who have studied with her.

Works with Words

A juried show of Tennessee artists incorporating text and image. Artworks chosen for the exhibition represent a broad range of ways that text can be used in works of art.

The Wilson Limited Editions Collection Purchase Award Winner is "Green X," by Claudia Lee.

Works with Words Artists
Slideshow of Exhibition
Font Walk Map

Funding for the Art Gallery made possible by generous gifts to the Nashville Public Library Foundation.

Exhibition Policy

As an institution that serves all of Davidson County in its branches and main library, the Library will focus on presenting exhibitions that are either, but not limited to:

• related to the particular focus of the Library by highlighting the library’s collections, programs, and services;
• drawn from the Library’s collections and resources;
• specific to the Nashville area including but not limited to exhibitions which would stimulate interest in some aspect of its history;
• co-curated with other institutions, museums, art galleries, libraries and agencies to provide a thematic examination of a particular area of interest to the Library as described in its Mission Statement;
• curated by other institutions, as described above, agencies or individuals and are of the highest quality and provide examination or viewing of a particular area of interest to the Library as described in its Mission Statement.