Legacies: Selections from the Elmhurst Art Museum's Permanent Collection

The exhibition* Legacies* emphasizes the enduring impact of artists, collectors, galleries, and institutions in shaping the Museum’s collection. Featuring over one-hundred paintings, sculptures, photographs, textiles, furniture, and works on paper, this exhibition highlights the diverse ways in which art collections are built, preserved, and shared across time. It also honors the vital role that generosity plays in sustaining the life and mission of a museum.

Since its founding, the Elmhurst Art Museum has been shaped not only by curatorial vision, but also by the generosity of those who believe in the power of art to educate, inspire, and connect communities. The collection focuses primarily on Midwestern artists with a concentration of, but not limited to, late 20th Century American Art and Mid-Century Design. Many of the works in this exhibition entered the museum’s collection through gifts from neighbors, family members, friends, and artists who sought to ensure their work, or the work they valued, would be accessible to future generations. These acts of giving are profound gestures of trust, partnership, and belief in the importance of public cultural institutions.

Collectors, in particular, have helped define the museum’s identity through their discerning eye and commitment to stewardship. Their donations often reflect decades of thoughtful engagement with artists and art history, and their gifts provide public access to works that might otherwise remain unseen in private hands. At the same time, artists who donate their own work are contributing to a broader legacy—placing their creative vision within the context of a museum collection where it can spark dialogue, influence peers, and reach new audiences. Legacies showcases the results of these contributions, drawing connections across generations, media, and artistic movements. Whether reflecting personal narratives or responding to broader social issues, the selected works reveal the many dimensions of legacy: as influence, as inheritance, as memory, and as an ongoing act of care.

As the Elmhurst Art Museum continues to deepen its commitment to contemporary art and architecture practices, the permanent collection remains a cornerstone of its mission. This exhibition is both a celebration of what has been given and a call to consider how future legacies are made—through creativity, generosity, and a shared belief in the enduring value of art.

Legacies features artwork gifted to the Museum from the following people: Raymond J. and Sally J. Allen, Phyllis Bramson,Greg Cameron in honor of his mother Jean Cameron, Funds donated in memory of Ben and Alice Hostetler, Cleve Carney,Tarrant Clements, Carole and Dick Cline, Holly Cohn, Mary McKean and Friends of Sandra Jorgensen, Elmhurst Fine Art & Civic Center Foundation, Frank W. England Fund, Dudley Fisher, Doug Fogelson, Lee and Brena Freeman, Glynna and Lee A. Freeman Jr., Yvette Kaiser Smith, Eleanor King Hookham. Harry and Marie Hostetler, John P. McMorrow, John Peloza, David C. and Sarajean Ruttenberg Arts Foundation Ruttenberg '52 Collection, Frederick R. Sauerbier, Casmir Sliwa, Peter Stanfield, and anonymous donors.

This exhibition is generously supported by

Image: Bernard Williams, Zotom (detail), 2006, enamel on wood, 11.75 x 14.75 x 12.25 inches