Illinois Art History

with an emphasis on representational art

 

Books, listed by year of publication, with most recently published book listed first

 

Art in Chicago: Resisting Regionalism, Transforming Modernism, by Robert Cozzolino, Philadelphia: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 2007.

Chicago Painting, 1895 to 1945: The Bridges Collection by Wendy Greenhouse and Susan Weininger. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2004.

Chicago Modern, 1893-1945: Pursuit of the New, by Elizabeth Kennedy, ed. Chicago: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2004.

Union League Club of Chicago Art Collection, by Marianne Richter and Wendy Greenhouse, Chicago: Union League Club of Chicago, 2003.

Window on the West: Chicago and the Art of the New Frontier, 1890-1940, by Judith A. Barter. 224 pages. Hudson Hills Press (September 25, 2003). ISBN-10: 0865591997. ISBN-13: 978-0865591998. Product Description: "A social and cultural history of the role played by Chicago artists and their patrons in the evolution of depicting the landscape and people of the American West. Works by a variety of artists including Remington, MacNeil, Ufer, Higgins, and O'Keeffe." (text courtesy of Amazon.com)

The Friedman Collection: Artists of Chicago, March 7-April 6, 2002. Essay by William H. Gerdts, Ira Spanierman Gallery ( 2002)

Art for the People: The Rediscovery and Preservation of Progressive- and WPA-Era Murals in the Chicago Public Schools, 1904-1943, by Heather Becker, San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2002.

A Guide to Chicago's Murals, by Mary Lackritz Gray. 520 pages. Publisher: University Of Chicago Press (April 1, 2001). ISBN-10: 0226305996. ISBN-13: 978-0226305998. Google Books says: "Chicago is a city known for its fabulous architecture and public sculpture by artists such as Picasso and Calder, but anyone who has seen the gorgeous lunettes in the Auditorium Theater or the South Side's Wall of Respect, which inaugurated the city's contemporary mural movement, knows that Chicago has an equally rich tradition of mural painting. Through these murals, the history of Chicago and the nation is writ in churches and lobbies, on viaducts and school walls. Mary Gray's A Guide to Chicago's Murals is the first definitive handbook to the treasures that can be found all over the city. With full-color illustrations of nearly two hundred Chicago murals and accompanying entries that describe their history -- who commissioned them and why, how artists collaborated with architects, the subjects of the murals and their contexts -- A Guide to Chicago's Murals serves both a general and a specific audience. Divided into easy-to-read geographical sections with useful maps for walking tours, it is the perfect companion for tourists or Chicagoans interested in coming to know better this aspect of the city's history. Gray also provides crucial information on lesser-known artists and on murals that have been destroyed over the years, filling a gap in the visual record of the city's development. Gray also includes biographies of more than 150 artists and a glossary of key terms, making A Guide to Chicago's Murals essential reading for mural viewing. From post offices to libraries, fieldhouses to banks, and private clubs to street corners, Mary Gray chronicles the amazing works of artists who have sought to make public declarations in this most social of art forms. "A major lacuna in the history of art in Chicago has been filled, with the thoroughness of the research proportionate to the richness of the material revealed." -- From the Foreword by Franz Schulze "Gray's book . . . can function as a guidebook, as the murals are conveniently arranged according to the quadrants of the city. But the book is also beautiful to look at and indespensable as art history and Chicago history as well. . . . This book is a wonderful guide to Chicago's rich and unique mural tradition." - Elizabeth Alexander, Chicago Tribune Books "If you love art and history, this is a book you'll truly enjoy." - Al Paulson, Utne Reader" (right: front cover of A Guide to Chicago's Murals. image courtesy of Google Books)

Illinois Women Artists: The New Millennium, by The Illinois Committee for the National Museum of Women in the Arts. 68 pages. Illinois Committee Nat'l Museum of Women (May 12, 1999). ISBN-10: 0252068556. ISBN-13: 978-0252068553. Product Description: ""Illinois Women Artists: The New Millennium" showcases fifty pieces that celebrate the wit, conviction, and creativity of women artists in Illinois. The honesty and energy of these pieces -- paintings, sculptures, lithographs, etchings, woodcuts, collages, quilts -- emanate from the pages of this beautiful full-colour book that serves as the exhibition catalogue. The show travels from Chicago to the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C., and then throughout Illinois." (text courtesy of Amazon.com)

Art in Chicago, 1945-1995 by Lynne Warren, ed., Chicago: Museum of Contemporary Art, 1996, ISBN-10: 0933856415, ISBN-13: 978-0933856417. 312 pages

The "New Woman" in Chicago, 1910-1945: Paintings from Illinois Collections, by Rockford College of Art Gallery, Rockford, IL: Rockford College, 1993.

Art-related Archival Materials in the Chicago Area, by Betty.Blum, Washington, DC: Archives of American Art, 1991.

The Old Guard and the Avant-Garde: Modernism in Chicago, 1910-1940, by Sue Ann Prince. 304 pages. Publisher: University Of Chicago Press; 1 edition (December 18, 1990). ISBN-10: 0226682846. ISBN-13: 978-0226682846. Product Description: "The Old Guard and the Avant-Garde: Modernism in Chicago, 1910-1940 brings together the history and the critical reaction to the new developments in art and design, places them in the context of conservative yet innovative Chicago at the turn of the century, and explores the tensions between tradition and innovation. The individual essays present the best in specialized current research, yet one can clearly understand the impact of modernism on the broader intellectual and cultural life of the city. I eagerly await as cohesive and thorough an analysis of the subject for New York."-David Sokol, University of Chicago. ..."This is fresh and fascinating research about the ups and downs of modernism in Chicago, a city where art students reportedly once hung Matisse in effigy. Regional studies like this one broaden our understanding of how the art world has worked outside of New York and gives depth to a story we know too narrowly. Applause all the way around." - Wanda M. Corn, Stanford University. (text courtesy of Amazon.com)

Federal Art Project in Illinois, 1935-1943, by George Mavigliano, Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1990.

Biographical Dictionary of Painters and Sculptors in Illinois 1808-1945, A (2 Volume set), by Esther Sparks (Author). Publisher: UMI Dissertation Services (1988). ASIN: B001JL1R9M

Chicago Furniture: Art, Craft, and Industry, 1833-1983 by Sharon Darling. New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 1984.

A Guide to Chicago's Public Sculpture, By Ira J. Bach, Mary Lackritz Gray, Mary Alice Molloy. Photographs by Mary Alice Molloy. Illustrated by Mary Lackritz Gray. Contributor Mary Lackritz Gray. Published by University of Chicago Press, 1983. ISBN 0226033988, 9780226033983. 379 pages

After the Great Crash: New Deal Art in Illinois : an Exhibition of Art from the Period 1934-1943 Produced by Artists on the Various Federal Art Projects in Illinois : April 3-May 29, 1983, Illinois State Museum, Springfield, By Illinois State Museum. Published by Illinois State Museum Society, 1983. 32 pages

A Biographical Dictionary of Peoria Artists, 1830-1982, with Reference Guide, By Adelaide N Cooley. Published by s.n, 1982

Over a Century: A History of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, 1866-1981, By Roger Gilmore, Art Institute of Chicago School. Published by The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, 1982. 132 pages

Chicago Sculpture: Text and Photographs, By James L. Riedy, Published by University of Illinois Press, 1981. Original from the University of Michigan. Digitized Nov 13, 2007. ISBN 0252008197, 9780252008191. 339 pages

Your Guide to Loop Sculpture, By Chicago Council on Fine Arts. Published by The Council, 1980. 19 pages

100 Artists 100 Years: Alumni of The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Centennial Exhibition, The Art Institute of Chicago, November 23, 1979 Through January 20, 1980, By Katharine Kuh, Art Institute of Chicago School, Art Institute of Chicago. Published by The School of the Art Institute of Chicago], 1979. 67 pages

Role and Impact, the Chicago Society of Artists, by Louise Dunn Yochim. Published by Chicago Society of Artists, 1979. ISBN 0960253203, 9780960253203. 297 pages

Currents of Expansion: Painting in the Midwest, 1820-1940, by Judith A. Barter and Lynn E. Springer. St. Louis: St. Louis Art Museum, 1977.

Illinois Landscape Art, 1830-1975, By Lakeview Center for the Arts and Sciences, Lakeview Center for the Arts and Sciences. Published by Illinois Arts Council?, 1976 .39 pages

Naive Art in Illinois, 1830-1976: [exhibition], By Joshua Kind, Illinois Arts Council, Illinois Arts Council, Published by The Illinois Arts Council, 1976. 31 pages

Art, Crafts, and Architecture in Early Illinois, By Betty I. Madden. Published by University of Illinois Press, 1974. ISBN 0252006755, 9780252006753. 310 pages

Illinois Portrait Index, By National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in the State of Illinois, National Historical Activities Committee. Published by National Society of the Colonial Dames of America Illinois, 1972. 72 pages

Painters and Sculptors in Illinois 1820-1945, by Illinois Arts Council. Chicago: Illinois Arts Council, (1971).

"A Biographical Dictionary of Painters and Sculptors in Illinois 1808-1945," by Esther Sparks, PhD dissertation Northwestern University, 1971.

The Artist Sees Historic Illinois; December 2, 1967-February 4, 1968, By Illinois State Historical Library, Illinois State Museum. Published by Illinois State Museum, 1967

Art of Today, Chicago, 1933, By Jacob Zavel Jacobson. Published by L. M. Stein, 1932. 154 pages

History of Music and Art in Illinois: Including Portraits and Biographies of the Cultured Men and Women who Have Been Liberal Patrons of the Higher Arts, Published by Merrill & Baker, 1904. 708 pages

Historical Sketch and Description of the Art Institute of Chicago, By William Merchant Richardson French. Published by s.n.], 1904. 23 pages

Chicago in Picture and Poetry: With One Hundred Illustrations, By Horace Spencer Fiske. Published by R.F. Seymour for the Industrial Art League, 1903. Original from Harvard University. Digitized Sep 13, 2006. 187 pages. Full View of this book available via Google Books

 

 

(above: John Buczak, 44th Annual Exhibition, The Art Institute of Chicago. Works Projects Administration)

 

TFAO's Distinguished Artists catalogue provides online access to biographical information for artists associated with this state. Also, Search Resource Library for online articles and essays concerning both individual artists associated with this state's history and the history of art centers and museums in this state. Resource Library articles and essays devoted to individual artists and institutions are not listed on this page.

Do you know of additional sources whether online or paper-printed? TFAO welcomes your suggestions. Please send them to:

 

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