Spanning more than three decades, the gift brings works addressing displacement, human rights, and environmental justice to Northwestern’s art collection The Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art at Northwestern University has received a major gift of fourteen photographs by internationally acclaimed artist Fazal Sheikh, given by the artist in honor of Interim President and […]
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On April 2, 2026, The Block Museum of Art hosted an online collection talk exploring artworks from the museum’s collection in dialogue with the biography Marsha: The Joy and Defiance of Marsha P. Johnson by Tourmaline. Led by Curatorial Associate Llewyn Blossfeld and facilitated by Engagement Coordinator and Educator Isabella Ko, the program considered how […]
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Artist: Soo ShinTitle: Pas de Deux 3.13.24-4 (Pacific Ocean)Date: 2024Medium: Ink, Pacific Ocean water, paperCredit Line: Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, Block Board of Advisors Endowment Fund purchase In 2024, Shin began work on Pas de Deux, a series of collaborative and experimental drawings. For these works, she constructed a floating wooden apparatus designed to fit […]
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What happens when we look at modernist art through the lens of horror? This fall, The Block Museum of Art invites visitors to explore that question in a collection-based exhibition created in collaboration with students in Northwestern’s Spring 2025 Art History seminar “Horror Modernism.” Taught by Art History professor Jessy Bell in partnership with The […]
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The Block Museum has recently received a significant bequest from the estate of Thomas J. Hamilton (1931–2022) (MBA ’79), a Washington, DC, theater artist, playwright, and director of the Source Theatre who was also a dedicated collector of modern and contemporary works on paper. Hamilton grew up in the Midwest and maintained connections to Chicago […]
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The Block Museum is pleased to announce that its Collection Council has selected and supported for acquisition works by Martin Wong and Sammy Baloji. The Collection Council convened virtually throughout the 2024–25 academic year, debating and narrowing down a shortlist of artists nominated by its members and The Block’s curatorial team. Focused on works reflecting […]
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Artist: Igshaan Adams (South African, born 1982)Title: Klip Gooi (stone throw) iiiDate: 2021Materials: Wood, glass, gemstone, and semi-precious stone beads, metal charms, metal garden fence, chain, variety of metal wires (copper and brass), polyester and nylon rope.Dimensions: 110.79 x 28.74 x 36.61 inchesCredit: Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of James and Anne DeNaut […]
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Artist: Karl Wirsum (American, 1939 – 2021)Title: Dune Not For SakiDate: 1991Medium: Color lithographCredit Line: Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, 1996.75 Chicago artist Karl Wirsum’s humorous imagination comes to life in the colorful lithograph Dune Not For Saki, exemplifying Wirsum’s individualization of characters that appear in his artwork. It features a green and turquoise female in a […]
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Artist: Lee Godie (American, 1908‒1994)Title: Figures [Staying Alive]Date: 1993/94Medium: Mixed media on canvasDimensions: 23 x 29 inCredit Line: Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of Paul & Pamela Boneham, 2024.26 Figures [Staying Alive], a drawing on canvas by Chicago artist Lee Godie, features two figures: one portrait bust of a woman, and a full standing figure. On […]
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The Block Museum of Art is pleased to announce several acquisitions over the course of 2023, 2024 and 2025 related to the exhibition Woven Being: Art for Zhegagoynak/Chicagoland. The acquired works include pieces from the four Woven Being collaborating artists —Andrea Carlson (Grand Portage Ojibwe/European descent), Kelly Church (Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi/Ottawa), Nora Moore Lloyd […]
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