Friends of the Malden Public Library Wine Tasting – Frank Stella Tribute

The Friends of the Malden Public Library (MPL) is holding their Annual Wine Tasting Gala fundraiser on Friday, May 9, 2025, from 7–9 p.m. in the historic Converse Memorial Library and Art Galleries. The event will include wines and “mocktails,” which are cocktails without alcohol, courtesy of Kappy’s Fine Wine & Spirits in Malden. This is a catered event, serving food from the area’s best establishments, and will also have live music and a silent auction with many exquisite items.

This year’s theme will be a tribute to a renowned artist and Malden native, Frank Stella. Best known for his use of geometric patterns and shapes, Stella was a painter, sculptor and printmaker. He was one of the most influential American artists up until his passing in May of 2024, using geometry to have a narrative impact. “In other words,” as he explained, “you could tell a story with shapes.”

Frank Stella was born in Malden on May 12, 1936, studied at Princeton University and then moved to New York in 1958, where he was involved in the Abstract Expressionism movement. His work aided in opening the doors to Minimalism in the following decades. Stella’s art became quite well-known; he was the youngest artist to be granted a solo exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA). Today, Stella’s works are held in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Basel Art Museum in Switzerland, the Art Institute in Chicago, the National Gallery in Washington, D.C., the Tate Gallery in London and in the Art Galleries of the Converse Memorial Building at the MPL.

For the Gala, the MPL will also be hosting an exhibition of Stella’s mother, Constance, who was also a very accomplished artist, although of a very different genre. She painted exquisite marine and landscape scenes that reflected the broad, diverse and ever-expanding experience of her life and travels. It is said that in the late 1930s Constance would bring her son to attend story time at the MPL, where would in 1959 exhibit his paintings.

Attendees are welcome to wear styles reminiscent of their favorite Stella decade.

Tickets are $50 general admission, and $75 includes a VIP gallery tour beginning at 6:30 p.m. Tickets can be bought online or in person at the Circulation Desk. For paper tickets purchased at the library, please have cash or check available. Online ticket sales are available at www.localWineEvents.com/Friends of the Malden PL