P&C At The Vanderpoel

Rudolph Ingerle, Sunset Landscape

The Vanderpoel Art Museum is a great place to visit if you're ever near Beverly on a Saturday morning (hours are very limited) -- I heard about it from Stuart, who tells something of its history here. Like the Palette and Chisel, it's an old organization with a unique history -- and a problematic future.

Martin Hennings, "Examining the Arrows", 1925


Oskar Gross, "Grandma from the Smokies",1940


Oskar Gross, "Sunny Days", 1940





Joseph Tomanek(1889-1974) "View from Studio Window" - 18th and Laflin looking east)


William Irvine, "The Vista"

Above are the 6 paintings which I've found, so far, to have been painted by members of the P&C -- but I'll probably find more after we've compiled a longer list of former members.

Other paintings in the collection are discussed here


For a detailed discussion of its history, visit the archives of the "Chicago Reader" and search for "Vanderpoel".

Basically, the collection was assembled by Vanderpoel's friend and neighbor, John A. Campbell, an advertising man who campaigned from 1916 to 1945 to get Vanderpoel's colleagues to donate paintings to a museum in his name.

A few more items came in during the 50's -- but basically the period of growth was over -- and in the 60's the board donated funds to help build a new facility on the campus of a local, elite private school, the Morgan Park Academy (some of them sat on the board of that institution as well)

The new building was owned by the Morgan Park Academy, but leased for 50 years to a new organization called the "Beverly Arts Center" -- which in turn, gave a 50 year lease to the Vanderpoel Art Association.

As the conclusion of that lease period was approaching, the Beverly Arts Center got the City of Chicago to donate a piece of land, and then raised the funds to build a new facility upon it --- but the Vanderpoel Art Museum was left back at the old building at the Morgan Park Academy -- which immediately asked the museum to leave.

So now -- the museum is in trouble.

It's back at the Ridge Park fieldhouse (which is basically a gym) -- and all the wealthy donors are gone. What's left are a few, dedicated die-hards -- and they need some help !