Chicago History Museum: Art Shay Captures the Essence of the City

We visited the Chicago History Museum, located in Lincoln Park, to view a retrospective of Art Shay's photography over a 60-year period. The day before, we had a bad storm pass through the city, and high winds damaged trees, power lines, and roofs. On the side of the museum building, we saw a large tree, perhaps a hundred years old, lying uprooted on the grassy lawn. By the entrance of the museum, we were glad to see that the fountain with herons and cherubs was not damaged.

 History of the Chicago History Museum:

1856 - Chicago Historical Society established

1871 - Great Chicago Fire destroyed original collection

1896 - New facility constructed at Dearborn and Ontario

1920s - Purchase of thousands of artifacts and manuscripts from estate of Charles E. Gunther

1932 - New redbrick Georgia-style facility constructed on Clark Street in Lincoln Park, its current location

1970s & 1980s - Facility doubled in size

2005-2006 - Renovation of about 75% of public space

2/2006 - Name change to Chicago History Museum

What is it about Chicago that makes it a unique place? Besides its dynamic skyline, expansive public spaces, lively arts and cultural scene, diverse neighborhoods, and political intrigue, Chicago is known for its colorful and legendary history. One of the museum's permanent exhibition, Crossroads of America, explores stories from the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 to the renowned rivalry of the Cubs vs. Sox, from the political scandals to gangster history, and much more. Another permanent exhibition is a children's gallery, where young visitors use their five senses with interactive displays to explore Chicago's past.

On the day we visited the museum, there was a special exhibit on Quilts, A Patchwork History, including 13 exquisite quilts from the museum's permanent collection, depicting the quilts as a "visual experience, technical masterpiece, family legacy, and expression of personal history." The quilts are beautiful objects of art, which provide a historical insight into the lives of their creators. Marian Shaw, our guide, said the quilts were from different periods from 1850 to 1945. She mentioned that the Illinois Michigan Canal, constructed in 1836, was part of the Underground Railroad to help slaves escape, and that hanging quilts were used as code to indicate to illiterate slaves where to "follow the hand of the drinking gourd (the Big Dipper) to go north."

We went upstairs to the second-floor gallery to view another special exhibit, The Essential Art Shay, Selected Photographs. Born in the Bronx in 1922, Shay became a reporter for Life Magazine after World War II. The magazine relocated him to Chicago in 1948, and he became a freelance photojournalist. His 60-year retrospective includes black and white photos of the lives of celebrities, skid row characters, children living in poverty, people in court, circus characters, dog catchers, glimpses of city life, and suburban shopping malls. In the 1950s, he even took hidden camera photos of gangsters. His most recent work includes photos of middle-class Americans (at Northbrook Court Mall), embedded in the consumer culture. 

His favorite photo is Magdelena's Beauty Shop. Mannequins with perfect hairstyles and bodies are in the window, and a middle-aged woman sits in the back getting her hair done. Shay quips, "We all want to look like the mannequins, but, alas, we end up looking like the woman."

I have two favorite Shay photos. The first is Sunday Morning on Madison Street taken in 1950. It is a momentary glimpse of colorful skid row characters and a young man dressed in his Sunday suit walking jauntily among them. The other one is Dog Turning into a Cat, taken in 1972, which shows a dog sitting in front of a fun house mirror, which has a reflection of a large cat.

Always searching for and capturing character sketches, double or repeat images, unusual juxtapositions, symbolism, and humor in every day life, Shay was, and still is, a master photographer with a nimble ability to reveal the essence of the life and heart beat of Chicago.

Amy A. Rudberg is a freelance writer, editor, and researcher. She recently created ArtStyle Blog, A Voice for Artists in Chicago (http://www.chicagoarts-lifestyle.com/).