The Friedman Collection: Artists of Chicago Book Review

Chicago, with its Second City moniker and its regional provincial rube reputation, has long been overlooked as a place where great art is being made. It’s my hope that, with this gallery, I’ll be able to showcase not only current art that deserves an international stage, but also to help educate all art lovers, near and far, about the quality of work that has been produced here over the last century and a half or so.

Back in 2002, New York City’s Spanierman Gallery took a step in educating New Yorkers about this very subject. The gallery exhibited the works from James Friedman’s collection of Chicago artists, the work ranging from the late nineteenth through the mid-twentieth century.

This catalog, printed as a handsome hardcover book, includes a well-written essay by Dr. William H. Gerdts (Professor Emirs, Art History, Graduate School, City University of New York), almost 60 full page color reproductions, and short biographies of many Chicago artists.

Both the writing and the images support that Chicago artists were right there with their Northeastern brethren in producing powerful and evocative works of all types, from cityscapes to portraits to pastoral landscapes. If you weren’t believer before, this book will surely help you change your mind.

William H. Gerdts, The Friedman Collection : Artists of Chicago, 2002, published by the Spanierman Gallery, LLC.