Chicago Connections

March 2021

CHICAGO CONNECTIONS

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Charles White (1918-1979) The Sound of Silence II, 1978, 21 x 35 1/4 inches Color Lithograph; Edition: 36/71, Signed and annotated in pencil along bottom

Chicago Connections March 2021

Gallery Hours Tuesday - Saturday 11:00-5:00pm

Ph 847.724.0660 info@aarongalleries.com www.aarongalleries.com

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INTRODUCTION

Since the year 2000, Aaron Galleries has had a profound presence in the African American art market. Prior to this specialization the gallery was known for its collection of American Regionalists such as Thomas Hart Benton and Grant Wood; Modernists like Werner Drewes and Milton Avery; Abstract Expressionists like Jackson Pollock and Beauford Delaney; and female artists such as Grace Hartigan, Lee Krasner and Gertrude Abercrombie. While the gallery maintains interest and availability of these works, and many others; its current specialty is African American Art. This is the first virtual catalogue that Aaron Galleries has produced, and we are very excited to use this platform for exhibition.

Since Aaron Galleries is located just thirty miles from the city, we decided to begin with artists who have connections to Chicago.

The chosen seven artists highlight these connections and also represent the diversity found in Aaron Galleries collection.

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ARTISTS 1.) Gladys Nilsson 2.) Jim Nutt Our first and second choices, Gladys Nilsson and Jim Nutt, husband and wife, belong to the Chicago Imagists or Hairy Who group which is associated with the Art Institute of Chicago. This couple met there in 1960 and they still live in Wilmette, Illinois. Nilsson and Nutt’s artwork is now extremely sought after.

3.) Charles White Born and raised in Chicago, White received a full scholarship to attend the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. White is considered to be one of the most important and influential American artists. He is widely known for his civil rights activism as seen in his powerful works of art.

4.) Dr. Margaret Burroughs Dr. Margaret Burroughs’ messages of peace and unity continue to inspire art enthusiasts. She lived in the city since she was five years old and studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Burroughs is highly regarded for having co-founded the Du Sable Museum of African American Art History in Chicago.

5.) Karl Wirsum Born in Chicago, Wirsum was an early and important member of the notorious artistic group The Hairy Who (which later evolved into the Chicago Imagists).

The artist studied at and later was an adjunct professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

6.) Wadsworth Jarrell Jarrell is a co-founding member of AfriCOBRA and is an important Contemporary artist. Jarrell graduated with a degree from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1958, after he was discharged from the army. He continued on to receive an MFA from Howard University in Washington, D.C. 7.) Roger Brown He moved to Chicago in 1962 to attend The School of the Art Institute of Chicago where he studied until 1970. He was an astute collector and his collection is preserved, as he left it at the Roger Brown Study Collection of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He was a member of the Chicago Imagist Group and his unique style makes his work very desirable.

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Gladys Nilsson b. 1940 In the Afternoon, 2007, 13 7/8 x 19 7/8 inches Watercolor and gouache on paper Signed, titled, and dated on verso

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Jim Nutt b. 1938 Tweed, 2005, 13 x 12 3/4 inches Lithograph; Numbered: PP 2 II Signed and annotated on verso in pencil

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Charles White (1918-1979) The Sound of Silence II, 1978, 21 x 35 1/4 inches Color Lithograph; Edition: 36/71, Signed and annotated along bottom

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Karl Wirsum b. 1939 Venetian Robot, 16 3/4 x 13 3/4 inches Acrylic, Cellophane, Acetate, in original framing by the Artist Annotated on verso 1979-1980

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Margaret Burroughs (1917-2010) Black Venus, c. 1960, 13 1/4 x 10 3/4 inches Linoleum Cut, Signed and titled

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Wadsworth Jarrell b. 1929 Woody and Getz, 1999, 10 x 8 inches Acrylic on canvas, Signed upper right

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Wadsworth Jarrell b. 1929 Crescent, 2006, 17 x 17 inches Sculpture, collage and mixed media, Signed on verso

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Roger Brown (1941-1997) Thick Paint: (Staying Clear of Existentialist Smog) 1983 48 x 48 inches Oil on canvas Titled on verso

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1031 Waukegan Road Glenview, Illinois 60025 847.724.0660 aarongalleries.com