Artist: Ken Fandell (American, born 1971)Title: The Sky Above My Home (10/7/2002–6/14/2003, Chicago, Illinois)Date: 2003Medium: Inkjet print on paperDimensions: 58 1/4 in x 105 inCredit Line: Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, gift of Peter Norton, 2016.4.9 From October 8 to November 9, 2025, Ken Fandell’s photograph The Sky Above My Home (10/7/2002–6/14/2003, Chicago, Illinois) will be […]
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A New Drop-In Space for Art, Reflection, and Connection Opens This September This fall, The Block Museum of Art at Northwestern University invites visitors to experience art a little differently—with a couch, a cup of coffee, and just one artwork at a time. Launching September 2025 and running throughout the fall and winter quarters, The […]
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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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The Block Museum of Art has acquired Sharp Tongue: Used to Cut Deep (2024), a 70 x 70-inch acrylic painting by Northern Cheyenne artist Jordan Ann Craig in conjunction with the exhibition it takes a long time to stay here: Paintings by Jordan Ann Craig (January 25-April 13, 2015) Craig’s practice is deeply rooted in […]
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One Book One Northwestern is an annual university-wide reading initiative that aims to generate a campus-wide conversation centered around a thought-provoking book. The 2024-2025 One Book selection is Louise Edrich’s 2020 novel The Night Watchman. Each year, The Block partners with One Book to select and compile works from the permanent collection that connect to […]
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One Book One Northwestern (OBON) is a university‐wide reading program that aims to engage the campus in a common conversation centered on a carefully chosen, thought-provoking book. The Block is proud to partner annually with One Book to explore the themes of this shared text, selecting artworks from the museum collection that can broaden discussions. The […]
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Throughout 2022-23, a series of talks consider works from The Block’s collection that reckon with the history of slavery, white supremacy, symbols of nationhood, and social inequity. This online talk was held in connection with 2022–23 One Book One Northwestern (OBON) selection How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across […]
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per·en·ni·al /pəˈrenēəl/: Enduring or continually recurring On June 13, 2022 – Northwestern’s 164th Commencement Day – The Block Museum of Art is thrilled to unveil an original artwork created for the museum’s collection by Chicago-based contemporary artist Leonard Suryajaya in collaboration with the 2021-2022 Block Museum of Art Student Associates. The large-scale photograph Perennial Blossom, […]
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