The hand-carved mural in the adult reading area of the Levittown Public Library was originally created by Stanley Kaplan for the school library at Levittown Memorial High School in 1959. When Levittown Memorial was closed as a high school, the 1983 Senior and Junior classes, with the support of the Parent-Teacher Association, requested that the mural be placed in the public library for the enjoyment of the entire community. The mural was installed in Levittown Public Library in 1984.
Literary subjects for the mural were selected by English teachers at Levittown Memorial High School as themes for the mural. The literary works depicted are 'Beowulf', Chaucer's 'Canterbury Tales', Shakespeare's 'Macbeth,' Dickens' 'A Tale of Two Cities,' Hawthorne's 'The Scarlet Letter,' and Edgar Allen Poe's 'The Raven.' Kaplan’s stated goal in creating the mural was to “stimulate the observer’s desire to explore the classics in literature.”
The mural is carved on Philippine mahogany and decorated with 23-karat gold leaf, enamel paint, and wood stain. It measures 30 feet long by 5 feet tall.
Stanley Kaplan was an artist who worked primarily in printmaking, artists’ books, and wood carved murals. Kaplan taught art at Levittown Memorial High School and at Nassau Community College. His prints are in several permanent collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the New York Public Library, the Brooklyn Museum, and the Philadelphia Museum, among others.
