Margaret McDermott and her daughter had Midnight, the wood sculpture, placed in the lobby of the Library in 2002. Dean of Libraries Dr. Larry Sall waited patiently one cold December afternoon for the installers. The entire campus was closed because of heavy snow, but Dr. Sall wanted to make sure the piece was displayed perfectly. The sculpture measures 52" x 106" x 6".

The artist is Jeffrey Brosk, who graduated with a master’s degree in architecture from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1976. He attended the University of Pennsylvania from 1965–1970 and holds a BA in architecture and a BS in economics (Wharton School). He worked with I. M. Pei (Dallas City Hall, Meyerson Symphony Center, John F. Kennedy Library ) and Marcel Breuer (Wassily chair, Whitney Museum of American Art) before he discovered his passion. His website states that the “major influence on the work both physically and spiritually is the landscape in the western United States.”

Brosk locates wood pieces from Texas to Peru to create his sculptures. Often the wood has inherent imperfections that make it interesting, but unfit as lumber. Each piece combines his artistic talents with the unique character of the wood he uses. He combines the wood with slate from Vermont, black stain, and gold leaf inserts. Brosk also creates tables as well as other pieces of furniture. His sculptures are included in the collections of Trump Place, Baylor University, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Wake Forest University, Roanoke Museum of Art, the Dallas Convention Center, and the University of Texas at Dallas.

A piece of his art was lost on 9/11 in the World Trade Center in New York.

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