Among the influences that made Chicago a leader in printmaking are the print workshop at Hull House during the Depression, the print activities that took place at the Graphic Studio, the artists of the New Bauhaus, the immense importance of Landfall Press, the printmaking facilities and courses of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, the early activities of the Chicago Society of Etchers, the collecting trends and exhibitions of the Art Institute and the education and printmaking innovations by new presses such as Anchor Graphics. Many of Chicago's premier painters as well as those trained primarily in printmaking availed themselves of these opportunities and thereby participated in a culture of collaboration, experimentation and diversification that remains little known. Together they form one of the most in-depth perspectives on a strong and constant tradition of printmaking in Chicago. Works by Gertrude Abercrombie, Ivan Albright, Don Baum, Adam Brooks, Rodney Carswell, Bill Cass, William Conger, Leon Golub, Richard Hunt, Vera Klement, Ed Paschke, Christina Ramberg, Hollis Sigler, Karl Wirsum, Bibiana Suarez and many others will be on view. The exhibition is curated by James Yood, one of Chicago's premier art critics and lecturer in the department of art theory and practice at Northwestern University, with the cooperation of Mark Pascale, assistant curator of prints and drawings, Art Institute of Chicago.
Admission is free.
The Sculpture Garden contains one of the major sculpture collections in this region and offers visitors an opportunity to view 20th century sculpture by well known artists such as Henry Moore, Joan Miro, Jacques Lipchitz, Jean Arp, Barbara Hepworth, Jean Ipousteguy, Arnoldo Pomodoro, Virginia Ferrari and Antoine Poncet. Each work is situated in a landscaped setting so that it can be appreciated alone or in relation to the surrounding landscape. It provides a creative way in which to become more familiar with some of the masterpieces of the visual arts. The Sculpture Garden is open year- round and admission is free. Maps are available in the gallery.