David Dooley’s Murals in the Norton Library

Now Open: The Newly Remodeled Norton Research Library, with Murals by David Dooley

You probably already know David Dooley, who serves Holy Cross in a number of ways—as lector and Eucharistic Minister—and at social gatherings as musician and gumbo chef extraordinaire. But did you know that David is also an accomplished painter?

Three years ago David was commissioned to paint murals for Norton Art Gallery’s Research Library, which was undergoing extensive renovation. At the beginning of the year the library reopened, and David’s murals are there for you to see.

The library, which houses rare and antiquarian books, including a priceless folio of Audubon’s Birds of America, is a work of art in itself. Furnishings include magnificent woods from all over the world, along with onyx, marble, granite and stained glass. Books are kept in elegant glass cases adorned with brass grillwork, and above each case is one of David’s works.

Each painting depicts a scene from one of the classic works of literature in the library: everything from Gilgamesh to The Iliad to Dante’s Inferno to Moby Dick (pictured here). For David, this project has been a labor of love and a labor of learning, for he decided that he couldn’t undertake a painting until he had read the book it illustrates. The result is absolutely breathtaking!

If you’d like to learn more about the Norton Gallery, the Research Library and David’s murals, you can read about them in the gallery’s January newsletter on the Norton website: http://rwnaf.org/newsletter/index2.
Even better, visit the library yourself—but be prepared to stay a while and enjoy the beauty of the surroundings and of David’s art!