Friends
of the Petaluma Library
The Petaluma Friends schedule art shows and other special events and run the bookstore located at the Petaluma Regional Library.
The Friends have presented Author Series, World Music Concert/Lecture Series, nature talks, and Art Lecture Series.
See the Petaluma Library Events calendar for upcoming programs.
Summer Art Lecture Series
Saturdays at 2 p.m.
Learn before you go! Free public lectures tied to the themes of upcoming exhibits
July 10 - Birth of Impressionism: Masterpieces from the Musée d'Orsay
Presented by Marsha Holm from the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
Nearly 100 magnificent works are presented by the famous masters
who called France their home during the mid- to late-19th century.
From their midst arose one of the most original and recognizable of all
artistic styles, Impressionism. The exhibition begins with paintings by
the great academic artist Bouguereau and the arch-Realist Courbet,
followed by Manet, Monet, Renoir, Sisley, and Degas.
July 17 - Impressionist Paris: City of Light
Presented by Jim Kohn from the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
La Ville-Lumière—“the City of Light”: Paris earned this nickname during the
19th century with the proliferation of gas lamps that lit up the French capital,
turning night into day and boosting its economic vitality. Moreover, the
radiance of the metropolis transcended the glow of its streetlights as Paris
ascended to its role as the cultural capital of Europe. Authors, composers, and
especially visual artists—-painters, sculptors, printmakers, and
photographers—-thrived in this dazzling setting. This exhibit explores various
aspects of life in and around the city in which these artists came of age.
July 24 - European Paintings: A Dime-store Legacy from the Kress Collection
Presented by Gretchen Turner from the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
Gretchen will show-and-tell the superb Old Master paintings owned by
the Fine Arts Museums, which constitutes the single most important gift
of art in our nation’s history, making the collection a “Mini-National
Gallery.”
Helen Putnam Community Room
Petaluma Regional Library
100 Fairgrounds Drive, Petaluma