Sculptural Ex Libris for the Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

The sculptural ex libris for the Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway (1899–1961) was opened on 4 June 2016 near Birutė Baltrušaitytė Public Library of Tauragė District Municipality during the traditional festival of Tauragė city. The spatial ex libris was designed by the sculptor Regimantas Midvikis (1947–2015), winner of the Lithuanian National Prize for Culture and Arts.
An ex libris is a marking of a book, indicating its owner. However, the idea of a sculptural ex libris belongs to the famous sculptor R. Midvikis, hailing from Tauragė. He intended to create more of these sculptures to decorate his home city. However, he managed to create only one, dedicated to his favourite writer and his piece Old Man and the Sea. The idea of the late artist was implemented by his family – Aldevina Sturienė and her son Arnas. Their idea was supported by Sigitas Kancevyčius, Director of the Tauragė Birutė Baltrušaitytė Public Library at that time.  
American writer Ernest Hemingway was born in 1899 in Oak Park (Illinois, USA). He worked as a reporter and enlisted as a volunteer during World War I. In 1937–1945, he worked as a war correspondent in Europe. The writer was a pioneer of psychological realism in literature. He developed the concept of a stoic man, which is akin to existential philosophy and referred to as the code of masculinity, developed the topics of spiritual invincibility or lost victory, and promoted moral values.  He died in 1961 in Ketchum (Idaho, USA).
The novel Old Man and the Sea (1952) tells the story of an old Cuban fisherman, which defines the spiritual greatness of the man. In 1953, this piece was awarded with the Pulitzer Prize, while in 1954 – Nobel Prize in Literature.

Compiled in 2018