"Pincer" by Kansas City artist STRETCH stands at the

center of  the Centennial Courtyard.  The sculpture was

purchased with funds donated by Mary Jo Springe,

an active supporter of the Carnegie Arts Center, in 2001. 

Centennial Courtyard - A Century of Service:

At the southeast entrance to the Carnegie Arts Center is the Centennial Courtyard.  The Centennial Courtyard is a brick courtyard that was created in 2000 to celebrate the Carnegie building's 100 years of service both as the Leavenworth County Library and the Carnegie Arts Center.

Generosity Remembered:

The courtyard recognizes the many individuals, families, and businesses involved in the building's past, present, and future.  Since the courtyard's dedication in 2000, over 100 bricks have been placed in the courtyard as memorials of loved ones and in honor of donors.

Bricks can be purchased from the Carnegie Arts Center and engraved in honor of or in memory of the special people in your life.  If interested in purchasing a brick, please contact the Carnegie Arts Center or download and print the Centennial Courtyard brick form.

download form now!

The 1906 Steinway Grand Piano:

Nestled in the reception room near the fireplace is a 1906 Steinway concert grand piano.  The Steinway originally belonged to Nina Barker Lange, who received the piano as a wedding present from her husband.  Lange was an accomplished concert pianist and also taught piano lessons on her beloved Steinway.  After her death, the Steinway was donated to Cushing Memorial Hospital. 

The Steinway came to the Carnegie Arts Center in the late 1980s and remains on permanent loan from Cushing Memorial Hospital and the family of Nina Barker Lange.  After being restored, the Steinway was dedicated with a special performance by David Hollander on April 16, 1989.

Nina Barker Lange at her piano.

A New Beginning:

Since 1989, the Steinway has seen many talented performers, from professional pianists to beginners at their first recitals.

The Steinway is admired by everyone who visits the Carnegie Arts Center.

Stacks Gallery - A Place for Learning, A Place for Art:

The Carnegie Arts Center's beautiful historic building was originally the first Carnegie Library in Kansas.  What was once the library stacks (where the books were kept) was transformed into a gallery when the library building became the Carnegie Arts Center.

Over the years, the Stacks Gallery has been host to some of the most talented artists in the Kansas City area.  The Stacks has also exhibited works by American Impressionist Birger Sandzen and Abstract Expressionist Jackson Pollock.

The Carnegie Arts Center hosts ten exhibitions each year, displaying work from local, national, and international artists.  A variety of different media is featured, including painting, drawing, photography, ceramics, sculpture, and textiles, as well as other media.

Information about submitting work for an exhibition can be found here.

Click here to learn more about our current exhibition.

links to area artists

The entryway of the Carnegie

Arts Center circa 1902 (then the Leavenworth Public Library). 

The library stacks can be

seen behind the front desk.

The Stacks Gallery is a favorite

haunt of Toulouse the cat.