Artist: Laura Aguilar (Chicana, 1959–2018)Title: Motion #53Date: 1999Medium: Gelatin silver printDimensions: 11 x 14 inchesCredit line: Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, Julie and Lawrence Bernstein Family Art Acquisition Fund Purchase, 2023.3.1. Image copyright of The Estate of Laura Aguilar. The artist Laura Aguilar once said that she felt most comfortable in […]
Read more
As part of her 2023 Block Curatorial Internship Vitoria Monteiro de Carvalho Faria conducted original research within the museum collection. Her investigation into the visual and thematic connections between two prints resulted in an installation in the Block’s conference space. Faria shares the intriguing alignment she curated at the museum. Although separated by 150 years, […]
Read more
Artist: Hussein Madi (Lebanese, born 1938)Title: The Arabic Alphabet portfolioDate: 1973Medium: 30 etchings on cotton paperDimensions: Each 30 x 24.4 cmCredit line: Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of Sami Khalifé, M.D. As part of his varied practice, artist Hussein Madi has explored Arabic letters, words, and calligraphy. In The Arabic Alphabet (1973), a portfolio of thirty […]
Read more
Throughout 2022-23 a series of talks considers works from the Block’s collection that reckon with the history of slavery, white supremacy, symbols of nationhood, and social inequity. This series is held in connection with 2022–23 One Book One Northwestern selection “How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America” by Clint Smith. In […]
Read more
“As years become decades, we remember both the people and experiences that create the texture of our lives. Our stories become linked with others, and the closer our bonds the more we share. Yet we might wonder if we can share similar experiences with a work of art, as they in their own way, accompany […]
Read more
Artist: Edward Steichen (American, born Luxembourg, 1879‒1973)Title: Models in Gowns by Madeleine Vionnet, for VogueDate: 1930Medium: Gelaton silver printDimensions: 10 x 8 inCredit line: Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of Richard and Jackie Hollander in memory of Ellyn Lee Hollander, 2019.29.27 Models in Gowns by Madeleine Vionnet is an example of Edward Steichen’s modern […]
Read more
Throughout 2020-21 The Block Museum is reflecting on artworks from the collection that explore ideas of excess, consumption, and the environment, and offer an interdisciplinary perspective on the climate crisis. Our project is inspired by The Story of More by Hope Jahren, Northwestern University’s 2021-2022 One Book One Northwestern (OBON) selection. In this online talk, Lois Taylor Biggs, […]
Read more
Artist: Mikki Ferrill (American, born 1937)Title: Untitled, Chicago, ILDate: ca.1965, printed before 1980Medium: Gelatin silver printCredit line: Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, the Irwin and Andra S. Press Collection Endowment Fund purchase, 2021.15 Image: Courtesy of the artist © Mikki Ferrill In 1960s Chicago, the Black gay and trans communities came […]
Read more
Artist: Miguel Covarrubias (Mexican, 1904–1957)Title: Mexican Street SceneDate: ca. 1940Medium: Lithograph on paperDimensions: 12.7 x 10 inCredit line: Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, Gift of Anthony and Carolyn Donato, 1997.16 Artist Miguel Covarrubias, who worked also as a writer, curator, and anthropologist, was born and raised in Mexico City. He first moved […]
Read more
Artist: Honoré Daumier (French, 1808–1879)Title: Rue Transnonain, le 15 Avril 1834 (Rue Transnonain, on April 15, 1834)Date: 1834Medium: Lithograph on white wove paperDimensions:14 3/8 x 21 5/8 inchesCredit line: Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, Gift of Sidney and Vivian Kaplan, 2002.3.18 The central figure of Honoré Daumier’s Rue Transnonain, le 15 […]
Read more