History on Plaster: The Stan Murphy Murals with Bow Van Riper

The Vineyard Haven Library is pleased to welcome local historian Bow Van Riper for a presentation about the history and content of the celebrated murals painted on the walls of the Katharine Cornell Theatre by Stan Murphy. This event will be held at 6:00 PM on Tuesday, July 22nd at the Katharine Cornell Theatre, located at 51 Spring Street in Vineyard Haven (above the Tisbury Town Hall). Free and open to the public. No registration required.

The Stan Murphy murals in the Katharine Cornell Theater are among the Island's most impressive pieces of public art. They represent Murphy's attempt to capture the history and ambience of life on the Island in just four panels. This talk takes a deep dive into their content and significance.

“History on Plaster: The Stan Murphy Murals” is the second in a three-part series of talks relating to the Katharine Cornell Theatre to be presented by Bow Van Riper in 2025. On May 27th, Bow delivered a presentation entitled, “Association Hall and the History of Vineyard Haven,” and on September 23rd, he will present on “Katharine Cornell and the Vineyard.”  

A historian for 40 years, A. Bowdoin "Bow" Van Riper received his BA from Brown University and his MA and PhD from the University of Wisconsin—Madison. He taught at the college level for more than 20 years and is the author, editor, or co-editor of 22 books and over 100 articles. He has been Research Librarian at the Martha's Vineyard Museum since 2014.

A third-generation washashore, Bow first came to the Island in 1963, at the age of 3 months, and moved here permanently in December 2011. He lives on the shores of Vineyard Haven Harbor in a 19th century house where, as far as he can tell, nothing of historical significance ever happened.

For more information, please contact the library at (508) 696-4211 or vhpl_programs@clamsnet.org, or consult the library website: https://www.vhlibrary.org.