The Providence Athenæum

Howard Phillips Lovecraft, a Providence native, felt inextricably linked to Providence. Although Lovecraft was not a member of the Athenæum, he lived half a block from the library, visited frequently, and wrote about it in his stories and letters. Many local landmarks, as well as a number of public figures and events from the history of the state, are woven into his stories.

The H.P. Lovecraft bronze bust was created by sculptor Bryan Moore and funded through a Kickstarter crowdsourcing campaign. In August of 2013, Moore and his colleagues donated the life-size bust to the library during the Necronomicon Convention. The bust is mounted on a pedestal with a plaque memorializing the main donors to the project, including Lovecraft scholar S.T. Joshi and film director Guillermo del Toro.