Did you know this Lawrence native's work is in Grand Central?

Have you ever stopped to admire the murals at the Grand Central Terminal? If not, then you probably should during your next visit, as a Lawrence native’s artwork is hanging from above at the over 100-year-old terminal.

It is the artwork of James Monroe Hewlett, an architect and artist a descendent of George Hewlett, the first Hewlett to settle in the area.

Now through December, his artwork will be on display at the Rock Hall Museum in Lawrence.

The Hewlett family purchased the Rock Hall home in 1824. In 1948 it was donated to the Town of Hempstead to become a museum which opened in 1953.

“It’s a nice feeling,” museum assistant Matthew Blum said, “to know that we are in the home of someone that actually worked on the mural in Grand Central Terminal.”

The mural features the night sky with constellations, it is a collaboration from Hewlett and Charles Basing, who together were Hewlett-Basing Studios.

Hewlett is credited with the design of several buildings across New York, such as the Brooklyn Hospital, Brooklyn Masonic Temple and the William A. Clark House, a mansion that was on Fifth Avenue.

“From murals to Gilded Age mansions,” Amy Vacchio, director of Rock Hall Museum, wrote in an email, “to the ceiling decoration of Grand Central Station, James Monroe Hewlett was at the center of the social and artistic world in New York City.”

The museum will feature eight watercolor paintings, tapestries, a family album and a desk made by him.

“He’s one of the most recognizable Hewletts,” Blum said, “he has such a rich background and some of the examples of his artwork and text styles. It is also great to learn the different projects he has worked on other than the ceiling of Grand Central Terminal.”

Blum was unaware that Hewlett was behind the ceiling mural until the art exhibit opened.

Two pieces on display that might catch visitors eyes are paintings that include the Rock Hall home. One illustration from 1888 showcases the house with a second Hewlett house built nearby. A 1900 watercolor features the home again but from a distant view. Blum said the artwork would give visitors a perspective of how the Five Towns area was more rural and less developed than today.

Matt Longo, who has worked at the museum for two years, is a fan of Hewlett’s work and spoke about one key feature that makes his most famous piece unique.

“It’s actually backwards,” Longo said about the terminal mural, “I believe it took maybe a month for someone to say, ‘Hey it’s backward!’ “

Each time Longo comes to work, he is amazed by the sense of history in the home and it’s artwork.

“It’s odd and surreal,” Longo said, “walking around someplace you know so much history has happened or even just being in an old building. There’s a way to history that we sometimes don’t realize and if you are placed in a certain place like this house, suddenly you feel that.”

Rock Hall Museum is at 199 Broadway, Lawrence. For more information, visit FriendsofRockHall.org.