This month’s cover image is Leon and Harriet, a 1941 oil painting by Allan Rohan Crite. In his paintings and graphics, Crite (1910–2007) chronicled the richness of African-American life in Boston, site of the 2010 ALA Midwinter Meeting.

Founded in 1807, the Boston Athenæum is one of the largest independent membership libraries in the United States. In addition to books, maps, manuscripts, prints, and photographs, for much of its history the Athenæum has also collected paintings and sculpture, predominantly American works and many of them with Boston connections. The images of mid-20th-century Boston neighborhoods by Crite form a part of the Athenæum’s growing collection of modern works. Visit the Boston Athenæum online at www. bostonathenaeum.org/.

Courtesy of Boston Athenæum.