Floyd County Museum, Charles City Public Library collaborate for Arthur Mooney program

By Travis Fischer, tkfischer@charlescitypress.com

History and art met at the Charles City Public Library as the library partnered with the Floyd County Museum for a special program about Arthur Mooney on Tuesday, Feb. 6.

The Zastrow room was packed as members of the community came out to hear about the life and times of the notable Charles City photographer and the legacy he left behind with his collection of art.

“We’re excited to have such a large crowd here today for this presentation,” said Patron Services Librarian Kamryn Kronschnabel.

The program began with a presentation by Floyd County Museum Director Mckenna Lloyd, who narrated a slideshow detailing Mooney’s history, from his arrival in Charles City in 1866 to his departure in 1892, taking him from Minneapolis to Chicago to New York over the course of his photography career.

“He was moving all over the place,” said Lloyd.

Following his death in 1941, Mooney left his collection of classical prints to the library, featuring the work of artists including Picasso and Rembrandt.

Kronschnabel discussed with the audience, some of whom were around at the time, how Mooney’s art collection was stored and maintained in the decades before it first became publicly displayed.

“Casually, we have 500-year-old pieces of art just hanging out in the Charles City library, which I love,” said Kronschnabel.

With an audience so large that chairs needed to be pulled from the lobby to seat everybody, the collaboration between the library and museum was considered a big success.

“I loved it,” said Barbara Thomsen.

“I enjoyed it immensely,” said Sharon Schneider, who herself worked at the library during the tornado of 1968. “I was amazed at how much research these young ladies have done.”