Library Resources for Arts & Sciences Faculty

As the Visual Arts Librarian, Laura Graveline is Dartmouth Libraries' liaison to the Art History and Studio Art departments, the Book Arts program, and the Hood Museum of Art. She manages the Sherman Art Library and the Art Special Collection. 

Is there a recent acquisition in your collections that you're especially excited about?

There are too many recent acquisitions to narrow down to one favorite, but I do have a favorite book in the library. It is Werner's Nomenclature of Colours in the Art Special Collection, call number: 763 W495w [1821]. I am fascinated by color and would love this title regardless, but Sherman's copy is unique due to the marginalia added by an unknown instructor or librarian, strictly admonishing everyone to not touch the hand colored pages with their fingers.

This book was a seminal publication for both the arts and the sciences. It was what Darwin carried with him on the Beagle in order to accurately describe the colors of the flora and fauna he found on his voyages. It was based on Werner's earlier guide to identifying soil samples. But Scottish watercolorist Patrick Syme expanded the color range and laboriously hand colored every swatch in each edition.

You live and breathe art every day, but do you have artistic pursuits of your own?

I'm a practicing artist and for the last 12 years have focused on encaustic painting. It is a medium that was popular in ancient world, and it is having a resurgence of interest now. I first saw examples in the book, The Mysterious Fayum portraits : faces from ancient Egypt, published in 1995. The unique quality of encaustic paintings captured my imagination and it has been wonderful to take a deep dive into this ancient medium.

I still paint with oils and watercolors, and love to draw. I also enjoy working with yarn, and I knit and crochet.

What's your favorite place you've visited?

Last fall I spent a week painting in County Mayo Ireland. It included a visit to Achille Island and I'm already planning a return visit. The landscape was hauntingly beautiful there.

Tell us about a book you read in the last year that you particularly enjoyed.

I recently read a couple of Tana French's mystery novels. I find her storytelling fascinating in that she often alludes to an event in a character's life, but does not always explain the event or its full significance, leaving the reader to follow their own conclusions about what really happened and why.

Do you speak languages other than English?

I studied French in high school and college, and have also studied Irish off and on and hope to become fluent some day.

Tell us about a movie or TV show you like, or one that you're currently watching.

Last fall I watched The Serpent Queen, based on Catherine de' Medici. I was mostly interested because it brought to life François the First, her father-in-law. The fireplace in Sherman is from one of François I's chateaus and was donated by an alum when Carpenter was built in 1929. My favorite feature of the fireplace is the prominent carving of a fire-breathing salamander, François I's emblem.