Artist protests library covering up her work, violating contract

Jul. 6—When Frederick artist Colleen Clapp walked by the C. Burr Artz Public Library in early 2022 with her husband, daughter and son-in-law, she was shocked to see that some of the work she painted in the children's section was gone.

Removable wallpaper with geometric shapes covered a mural she painted in an alcove. The mural depicted a farmhouse window with a rooster perched on a cow's head and other farm animals nearby.

On columns in the children's section, her illustrations of the first letters of sentences of famous children's books such as "The House at Pooh Corner" and "The Story of Ferdinand" had disappeared under white paint.

Both changes were done as a "refresh" for the library that started in 2019, Frederick County Public Libraries Director James Kelly said. The work included repainting and new carpeting and furniture, he said.

The library staff asked to have the barnyard scene in the alcove covered with a temporary decal after receiving requests for a "calming space" for nursing mothers in the children's section, C. Burr Artz branch administrator Beth Heltebridle wrote in an email.

But Clapp said covering her work violated her contract with the library in 2004, when she was commissioned to paint multiple pieces in the children's section for a total of $15,000.

"The Purchaser [Library] shall not intentionally destroy, damage, alter or modify or change the Work in any way whatsoever, nor will Purchaser intentionally allow others to do so," the 2004 contract says.

In 2004 and 2005, Clapp said, she designed and painted three murals in the children's section and multiple letter illustrations from children's stories, spanning six columns. The other two murals remain untouched. One depicts nursery rhyme characters. The second, in a separate room, has a theme of fantasy and fairies.

Clapp painted the letter illustrations. She installed the vinyl lettering for book excerpts on pillars.

Clapp said she doesn't know why or when the library covered her work. Kelly said he did not know if Clapp's work was covered in 2019 or later.

The discovery was shocking and disheartening, Clapp said, given how much she worked on the pieces. She was a graphic artist in D.C. at the time. She said she used every spare moment on the murals, usually arriving before the library opened and leaving after it closed.

She said artists are underappreciated. "Art is so insignificant to so many people," Clapp said.

The Clapps sent a letter to Kelly voicing their frustration, and spoke during a FCPL Board of Trustees meeting on June 1. But outside of emails, they still haven't talked with Kelly to resolve the issue, they said.

In a phone interview, Kelly said the library system is working on an agreement with Clapp.

When it came to the request of a "calming space," Heltebridle wrote that the alcove was a natural fit. The library staff, she wrote, did not intend to damage or remove the work, but rather to find a temporary solution to satisfy visitors.

"I approved [the change] and that step was not intended to be a long-term solution, but kind of an intermediate action to try to get to this changing needs of the space and try to have a more calming environment there," Kelly said.

However, Clapp's husband, John, said that's "hooey." He said he didn't understand how barnyard animals wouldn't be calming for breastfeeding mothers.

"The babies, they're breastfeeding — they don't need a quiet place," he said. "They don't even know there's a mural there. And the mother, the mother, really? Barnyard animals upsetting her so much that she can't lactate or something?"

Kelly said he was unaware of the contract signed under his predecessor, Darrell Batson. But Kelly also said he should have contacted Clapp before covering the mural.

Any more renovations in the alcove where the mural is have stopped since the Clapps spoke up, Kelly said.

"We definitely should have contacted her, and as the head of the organization, I take responsibility for that ...," Kelly said.

Colleen Clapp wrote she is not seeking to repaint and reinstall the letters and quotations since covering them "is more of an affront to the writers than to me," but she would retouch the barnyard painting if the wallpaper were removed.

"If there is damage to the underlying painting, I should be given the first option to repair it," she wrote.

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