Untitled (Bench) - by Martin Puryear
1998 / Pair of benches - Stainless-steel and Granite
Location: Lakeside Gardens / Chicago Botanic Garden
Gift from Ernest P. Waud, III
Public Art in Chicago
Good art in public places is one of the hallmarks of a great city. Here are images of sculptures, monuments, memorials, murals, reliefs, fountains and amenities at public places in Chicago... A Blog dedicated to the Sculpture Community of Chicago... Past, Present and Future... Please do not use any image without written permission.
Untitled (Bench) - by Martin Puryear
1998 / Pair of benches - Stainless-steel and Granite
Location: Lakeside Gardens / Chicago Botanic Garden
Gift from Ernest P. Waud, III
The Young Lincoln - by Charles Keck
1945
Bronze / 13-foot tall
Location: Senn (Nicholas) Park /
Triangular corner between N. Ridge Ave., N Clark Street and W. Thorndale Ave.
The Chicago Park District website informs... Keck's family donated the Young Lincoln to the G.A.R. collection of Chicago Public Library, which is now the Chicago Cultural Center. In 1997, the Chicago Public Library loaned the monument to the Chicago Park District to allow its installation in Senn Park on the city's North Side.
The Chicago Lincoln - by Avard Fairbanks
1956 / Bronze
Location: Lincoln Square / Lawrence and Western Avenue
Monument was erected by the Illinois Lincoln Memorial Committee
Ida B Wells 'Light of Truth' Monument - by Richard Hunt
Unveiled: 2021
Location 37th & Langley Blvd, Chicago
Constellation - by Santiago Calatrava
Installed: 2020
Painted aluminum with steel reinforcement / 29' H x 29' W
Location: River Point Park / 444 W. Lake Street
Funded by the real estate investment, development and management firm Hines.
The BOTS - by David Weeks Studio
Installed: 2018
These are larger version of the wildly successful desktop puzzle toy - cubebot.
Painted aluminum / Standing figure is 23' tall.
Fabricated at the Vector Custom Fabricating
Location: Marriott Marquis bldg. (near McCormick Place)
at 2121 S Prairie Ave. Chicago, IL.
Red Lily Tree of Liberty - by Ruth Aizuss Migdal
Installed: August 17, 2022,
marking the 90th birthday of the sculptor Ruth Aizuss Migdal!
Painted aluminum / 17' x 7' x 7'
Location: Plaza of Chicago Architecture Center / 111 E. Wacker Drive, Chicago
Brought by the CSE (Chicago Sculptor Exhibit)
Quantum Me - by Davis McCarty
2017
Metra Beverly Hills Station
99th Street and Walden Parkway
50 x 50 Neighborhood Arts Project
Ward 19 / Alderman Matthew O’Shea
Quantum Me literally and figuratively reflects its surroundings. Multicolored panes of purple, green, and amber dichroic Plexiglas support a stainless-steel sphere that creates a kaleidoscopic experience unique to each passerby. A second piece by McCarty, Quantum Dee, located in the Rogers Park neighborhood in the 50th Ward, is an inversion of this sculpture.
Phoenix Rising - by Lucy Slivinski
2018
Intersection of Sheridan Road, Broadway, and Montrose Avenue
50 x 50 Neighborhood Arts Project
Ward 46 / Alderman James Cappleman
Phoenix Rising is a symbol of rebirth. Using recycled materials, Slivinski gathered scrap materials from a nearby Chicago Transit Authority Red Line improvements project site. To contribute to the work, Alderman Cappleman’s office organized Uptown neighbors to donate bicycles, pipes, and other scrap metal. The artwork stands as a welcoming beacon and marks the entry to Uptown at its southern boundary.
Bronzeville Solar Pyramid - by Olusola “Shala.” Akintunde
2017
Gallery Guichard, 436 East 47th Street
50 x 50 Neighborhood Arts Project
Ward 3 / Alderman Pat Dowell
Shala's solar Pyramid generates solar energy and shines through a system of hieroglyphics Shala created with ComEd’s Solar Spotlight Program, which exposes high school students to renewable energy and STEM—science, technology, engineering, and math. Local students created the hieroglyphics to represent images of themselves, their neighborhood, Bronzeville and Chicago.
Loop Da Loop - by John Adduci
2018
“The Gateway to the Loop” micropark
State Street median at Lake Street
50 x 50 Neighborhood Arts Project
Ward 42 / Alderman Brendan Reilly
Loop Da Loop is a site-specific sculpture that draws inspiration from its location below the State and Lake elevated train station. Made of aluminum that echoes the material Adduci and structure of the metal elevated tracks, the sculpture intertwines this iconic symbol with a typographical “C” to represent Chicago.
1978
Location: Chicago State University
B.F. Ferguson Monument Fund
Ashland - by Erik Peterson
2017
Thorndale Avenue, between Sheridan Road and Lane Beach
Commission by the 50 x 50 Neighborhood Arts Project
Ward 48 / Alderman Harry Osterman
Ashland is a both a sculpture and a utilitarian piece of urban furniture installed within a median at the eastern end of Thorndale Avenue, where the city meets the lake. It was constructed from the wood of blighted ash trees affected by the emerald ash borer and removed from Rutherford Sayre Park on Chicago’s northwest side. It allows people to sit, relax and contemplate, taking in the view of the water and park.
Letter to Bessie Coleman - by Architreasures with Bernard Williams
2017
Chicago Park District / Burnham Park at 39th street
Commission by the 50 x 50 Neighborhood Arts Project
Ward 4 / Alderman Sophia King
Created by Bernard Williams in collaboration with Architreasures, an art-based community development organization, this painted steel sculpture honors Bessie Coleman, the first woman of African American and Native American descent to become a licensed aviator.
Quantum Hope - by Nicole Neck
2017
Taylor street & Ogden Avenue
Commission by the 50x50 Neighborhood Arts Project
Ward 28 / Alderman Jason Ervin
Quantum Hope channels the basic principle of kinetic energy into a site-specific work. Installed within sight of the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center, the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center, and Stroger Hospital, the sculpture expresses sentiments of recovery, aspiration, and positive energy between these facilities.
Conveyor - by Barbara Cooper
2020
Wood -white oak veneer and perforated steel
122' x 5' x 7'
Location: Olive-Harvey College, Chicago
Commissioned by the Illinois CDB Art in Architecture program.
Windhover - by Robert Murray
1970 / Installed: 1976
Corten steel / Painted blue
Location: Hinsdale Junior High School
Funded by the citizens of School District 181 and
a grant from National Education Association.
Silver Oak - by Barry Tinsley
1983
Stainless Steel / 17.6' H x 43' W x 24' D
Location: Oakton Community College, Des Plaines, IL
Commissioned by the Illinois CDB Art in Architecture program.
Paul - by Tony Tasset
Installed: 2006
Pained fiberglass over steel frame
Location: the NATE / Nathan Manilow Sculpture Park
at Governors State University
Commission by Illinois CDB Art in Architecture program.
Play - by Richard Hunt
1967-69
Corten Steel / 12-foot square
Location: John J. Madden Mental Health Center
Building and Growing - by Richard Hunt
2012
Welded stainless steel
Location: Chicago State University (CSU)
Commissioned by the Illinois CDB Art in Architecture program.
From Here to There - by Richard Hunt
1975 / Bronze
Location: Dr. Martin Luther King Community Service Center
4314 S. Cottage Grove, Chicago
Gwendolyn Brooks - The Oracle of Bronzeville
- by Margot McMahon
2018
A bronze sculptural bust is accompanied by a porch modeled after the poet's childhood writing spot, a path of stepping-stones that are etched with quotations from Annie Allen and a stone circle.
Location: Gwendolyn Brooks Park / 4542 S Greenwood Avenue, Chicago
The Brooks Park was formerly known as the Hyacinth Park and is located in the Kenwood community. It was renamed as Gwindolyn Brooks in 2004 as part of an effort by the Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners to recognize the contributions of Chicago women. The park is less than a mile away from her childhood home at 4332 S Champlain.
Homeless Jesus - by Timothy Schmalz
Homeless Jesus, also known as Jesus the Homeless, is a bronze sculpture that depicts Jesus as a homeless person, sleeping on a park bench. The original sculpture was installed at Regis College, University of Toronto, Toronto in early 2013. Other casts have since been installed. This includes the one in River North neighborhood of Chicago. It is outside the Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago's headquarters of Chicago.
Noguchi Fountain - by Isamu Noguchi
1976
Celebration of the 200th Anniversary of the Founding of the Republic
Granite and stainless steel, L 50 ft.
Location: The Art Institute of Chicago, east façade Columbus Dr. between Monroe St. and Jackson Blvd.
Commissioned by the B.F. Ferguson Monument Fund
Flight Forms - by Richard Hunt
2001
Stainless steel / 35 ft H
Commissioned by the City of Chicago Percent for Art program.
Richard Hunt’s Flight Forms unites a variety of forms in an upward-sweeping composition that suggests the defiance of gravity and the dynamism and wonder of flight. The sculpture’s grand scale balances the scale and character of the airport’s architecture. It is highly visible to passing motorists and provides an engaging experience for pedestrians.
Source: City of Chicago Public Art website
Stepped Arch - by Linda Howard
1982
Aluminum / H 197 in. x W 89 in. x D 72 in
Location: Chicago Fire Station 108
4625 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago
Commissioned by the City of Chicago Percent for Art program.
Blue Geisha - by Jerry Peart
1985
Painted aluminum / 39' x 24' x 22' / 9 tons
Commissioned by Chicago's Miglin-Beitler Developments. It was a private commission, and the sculpture is located on private property.
The same developers had earlier commissioned Louise Nevelson's "Dawn Shadows" at the Madison Plaza I. Later the development firm Metropolitan Structures commissioned Jerry Peart for Splash (1987) at the Illinois Center complex. The sculpture Splash is now relocated at the Trickster Gallery in Schaumburg.
Serenity - by Ruth Duckworth
2005
Northeastern Illinois University
Commissioned by the Illinois CDB Art in Architecture program.
The sculpture was installed when the artist was 96 years old. "Duckworth's sculptures have smooth and elongated silhouettes with slight details to insinuate the face and limbs."
Ruth Duckworth (1919-2009)
She was born in Hamburg, Germany. She fled her German homeland to escape Nazi oppressions. She studied art in England. She came to Chicago in 1964 to teach at the University of Chicago and remained in the city after retiring from the university in 1977.
Duckworth died in Chicago at the age of 90 on October 19, 2009. She spent 45 years of her life in Chicago. In two consecutive years Chicago lost two of the early modernist women sculptors. Geraldine McCullough passed away in 2008 at the age of 91. Ruth Duckworth passed away in 2009 at the age of 90.
Riverview - by Jerry Peart
Installed: 1980
Painted aluminum / H 17 ft.
Commissioned by the City of Chicago Percent for Art program.
The site of the North Side Police Center was formerly occupied by the historic Riverview Amusement Park, for which many Chicagoans share a fond nostalgia, and from which Jerry Peart derived the name of this sculpture. Riverview was fabricated from rolled aluminum plate that the artist cut and welded in his Chicago studio. Next, the sculpture was assembled on-site. The work, a vigorous combination of curvilinear forms, is painted with vivid enamel colors. Riverview’s bright colors and the open sweep of its circular arc are reminiscent of the carnival rides that preceded the sculpture.
Source: City of Chicago Public Art website
Photos taken on Nov 22, 2019
Jetty - by Barry Tinsley
1980 / Cor-Ten steel / H 48 ft. x W 12 ft. x D 15 ft.
Location: 24th District Police Station
6464 N. Clark St., Chicago
City of Chicago Percent for Art program
Barry Tinsley’s Jetty is made from plates of Cor-Ten steel welded into a variety of volumetric forms that are fastened together by welding and brackets. It was assembled on-site at the Rogers Park District Police Station and dedicated in January 1980. Because of the intense urban nature of the site, Tinsley designed an innovative, non-objective work, oriented close to the ground to give its viewers a sense of visual order and their own human scale.
Source: City of Chicago Public Art website
Photos taken: October 8, 2019
Rescue - by Jill Parker
1980 / Wall relief
Location: Chicago Fire Dept. Engine 95
4001 W. West End Ave., Chicago
Commissioned by the City of Chicago Percent for Art program.
Spiral Rain Form - by David Morris
Originally known as Spiral Vortex
Installed: 1981 / Refurbished in 2018
Stainless Steel / 23' high
Location: 3rd District Police Station
7040 S Cottage Grove Ave., Chicago
City of Chicago Percent for Art program
Refurbished in 2017 under the 50 x 50 Neighborhood Arts project.
Steel Garden - by Richard Hunt
2013 / Welded Stainless Steel
Location: Rainbow Beach Park, 79th & South Lake Shore Drive
The Chicago Portage was a significant factor in the development of United States interior. The Chicago Portage is the low and short divide between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River systems. It has been described as one the keys to the continent. Explorers Marquette and Joliet first crossed the Chicago Portage in 1673. One of the most important travel routes of the mid-century, the portage was significant factor in the development of United States interiors.
Drexel Fountain - by Henry Manger
1881-82 / Restored
Bronze
Believed to be one of the earliest monuments in the city.
The four-sided statue is decorated with Neptune and harvest Goddess figure.
Chieftan Statue - by Geraldine McCullough
The 7-foot-tall bronze sculpture portrays Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as an African 15th century Benin chieftain. The casting was commissioned to create a symbol of peace following the riots of 1968 after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King.
Location: Peace and Justice Plaza in front of WHA Austin Wellness Center
.
The Pathfinder (1982) - by Geraldine McCullough
1982 / 13 feet high / Sheet brass, brass pipe, brushed brass
Location: Village Hall Courtyard, Oak Park, Illinois.
Wicker Park - Gurgolye Fountain
Dedicated by the Mayor on May 11, 2002.
The fountain was initially purchased from a New York firm J.L. Mott Iron Works in 1892. However, the company was later bought by the Robinson Iron Company of Alexander Cit, AL. The Robinson firm was able to find the original catalos and some of the actual molds, which were used to cast in the Wicker Park Fountain.