The Great Chicago Fire finally burned itself out on October 10, 1871. The exact northern end point of the fire is a matter of conjecture. Most detailed maps show it stopped at just about the spot where the Peggy Notebaert Museum is today. If you’ve been on any of my Continue Reading
Art Institute of Chicago
Ivan Meštrović and the Ox and Buffalo That Never Happened
If you’ve been paying attention since 1928, you might have noticed the two large equestrian statues on opposite sides of the Congress Parkway, just east of Michigan Avenue. They are The Bowman and The Spearman, sculpted and cast by Croatian artist Ivan Meštrović. The stories of how they came to Continue Reading
Chicago’s Lost, Altered and Disfigured Public Art, #1
Chicago has an astonishing collection of public art, numbering in the thousands. Stories about our public art objects abound. About some objects and artists little is known. For yet others, the prevailing stories are simply wrong. When we start telling the stories of our public art, the conversation inevitably turns Continue Reading