Art & Exhibitions
Art at the Union League Club
In a letter that accompanied the Union League Club of Chicago’s first
significant work of art in 1886, its donor, J.M. Thatcher, wrote: “I
trust this gift may soon find company.” Club members quickly took his
words to heart and, within a decade, had established an Art Committee and an
art acquisitions fund.
The Club’s early acquisitions were nearly all from contemporary American
and European artists, with an increasing emphasis on the native school. Prints,
Civil War scenes, portraits of American presidents, Club officers, and local
landscapes constituted an eclectic medley of art that distinguished the Club
from other similar organizations at an early date.
By the mid-20th century, the Club had begun a series of biennial exhibitions
open to area artists. More than 750 artists submitted their works to the first
jury, which selected approximately 10 percent for inclusion in the show. Well-known
artists, critics and curators served as judges for the events, among them,
Ivan Albright, Aaron Bohrod and Earl Gross during the 1950s and 1960s.
Today, the Union League Club of Chicago is recognized as having one of the
most important privately held art collections in the region, with more than
750 works of art, including paintings, sculpture, works on paper, and decorative
arts – with particular strength in Midwestern artists.
In 1997, the Club established an on-site conservation laboratory and added a paintings conservator to the staff, making it the only club in the city with a full-time curator and an in-house paintings conservator.
Ongoing Club activities to promote appreciation of art include recognizing the contributions of distinguished Chicago artists with honorary memberships, organizing exhibitions with other Chicago arts institutions, and producing monthly exhibitions of contemporary art.
Exhibitions
The Club is pleased to present works by Chicago artists in the Third-Floor Gallery each month. To view the current exhibition, click here.
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