Original art, displayed throughout all three library locations, graces our spaces with whimsy, wonder, and vibrant color. The library’s art collection features more than 30 pieces of contemporary American artwork that are challenging, intriguing, and enduring.
The library also welcomes community artists to exhibit monthly. Opportunities are guided by our commitment to equity and anti-racism. Exhibits—in the Main Library’s second floor gallery space and at Maze Branch Library—change monthly.
Exhibits on monthly display
Main Library
September 22–October 24: Collected Moments by Michele Silvetti-Schmitt
Maze Branch
Through October 31: Arboriform rEvolution by Alyse Wittenberg.
Permanent collection on regular display
The works of art shown here are on permanent display at the Main Library. Click on the works of art for an enlarged view. Most were funded by the Bricks for Art program and Gala Preview Party, both held before the 2003 opening of the current Main Library building.
A Party of 3 by Jeanine Guncheon
Fabric dyes on wood, 54 x 72 inches
Forest Park, Illinois, 2005
Location: Main Library Children’s Services Area Storytime Room, first floorA View From Bridge by Tom Palazzolo
Color photograph, 60 x 60 inches
Oak Park, Illinois, 2000
Location: Main Library, third floorAlmost Together by Richard Loving
Oil on canvas, 76 x 56 inches
Oak Park, Illinois, 1974
Location: Main Library Silent Reading Room, third floorBajan Queens by Nancy Fong
Oil on canvas, 48 x 60 inches
Oak Park, Illinois, 2003
Location: Main Library Study Room D, third floorBookmakers by Jonathan Franklin
Oil on canvas, 60 x 67 inches
Oak Park, Illinois, 2004
Location: Main Library, third floorBranford Bee Episode #2 by Chris Ware
Ink and blue pencil on illustration board, 35 x 24 inches
Oak Park, Illinois, 2002
Location: Main Library Study Room B, third floorBuilding Stories: 1923-2003 by Chris Ware
Ink and blue pencil on illustration board, 26 x 34 inches
Oak Park, Illinois, 2002
Location: Main Library Study Room B, third floorCorp of Discovery by Marcus Kenney
Green back stamps and mixed media on canvas, 48 x 48 inches
Georgia, 2005
Location: Main Library Study Room A, third floorEaster Realness #2 by Kehinde Wiley
Oil on canvas, 117 x 117 inches
New York, 2004
Location: Main Library, third floor, south wallFire #5 by Paul Seawright
Color photograph (1 out of 6), 59 x 59 inches
Northern Ireland, 1997
Location: Main Library Conference Room, third floorGreat Skate by T. L. Solien
Oil and enamel on canvas, 60 x 72 inches
Wisconsin, 2003
Location: Main Library, second floorHappiest on Your Hands by Jane Hammond
Oil and mixed media on canvas, 70 inches in diameter
New York, 2003
Location: Main Library Children’s Services Area, first floorHope and Discovery by Dan Gustin
Oil on canvas, 87 x 78 inches
Chicago, 2006
Location: Main Library Lobby, first floorIncitation by Richard Loving
Oil on canvas, 67 x 56 inches
Oak Park, Illinois, 2006
Location: Main Library, third floor, north wallJames W. Scoville Portrait by Frank M. Pebbles
Oil on canvas, 93 x 66 inches
Oak Park, Illinois, 1890
Location: Main Library, third floor, north wallJewel Box by Bill Kerr and Weeks Ringle
Quilt, 60 x 60 inches
Oak Park, Illinois, 2004
Location: Main Library Children’s Services Area, first floorJump Rope by Margaret Burroughs
Linocut, 21.25 x 17 inches
Chicago, 1991
Location: Main Library Children’s Services, first floor
Art conservation in progress: This artwork has been temporarily removed for conservation.Mask by Geraldine McCullough
51 x 10.5 inches
Oak Park, Illinois, date unknown
Location: Main Library, third floor, south wallMobile by Higgins Glass
337 glass pieces, 96 inches wide
Riverside, Illinois, 2007
Location: Main Library stairwayMother and Child by Margaret Burroughs
Linocut, 19 x 15.5 inches
Chicago, 1990
Location: Main Library Children’s Services Area, first floor
Art conservation in progress: This artwork has been temporarily removed for conservation.Once Upon a Time by Bill Kerr and Weeks Ringle
48 x 72 inches
Oak Park, Illinois, 2003
Location: Main Library Children’s Services Area, first floorP0202 by Rodney Carswell
Oil and wax on canvas, 82 x 81 inches
Chicago, 2002
Location: Main Library, opposite Silent Reading Room, third floorPassing by Tia Etu
Oil on canvas, 47 x 40 inches
Oak Park, Illinois, 2003
Location: Main Library Study Room C, third floorRennie in Rhapsody by Jesse Howard
Charcoal and acrylic on paper, 36 x 34 inches
Maywood, Illinois, 2017
Location: Main Library, second floorRising and Falling by Richard Loving
Oil on canvas, 84 x 48 inches
Oak Park, Illinois, 1989
Location: Main Library Silent Reading Room, third floorRondelays 5×11 matrix by Higgins Glass
Glass, 68 x 44 inches
Riverside, Illinois, 2005
Location: Main Library Lobby, first floorRusty Brown: Where Will We Be in 2003 by Chris Ware
Ink and blue pencil on illustration board, 35 x 25 inches
Oak Park, Illinois, 2003
Location: Main Library Study Room B, third floorskip skitter start trip vault bounce – and other attempts at flight by Jacob Hashimoto
Wood, paper acrylic, and nylon, 96 x 144 x 7.5 inches
Los Angeles, 2005
Location: Main Library, second floorSpring Rain by Judy Ledgerwood
Oil on canvas, 84 x 144 inches
Oak Park, Illinois, 2005
Location: Main Library, third floorThe Frog Prince by John Winslow
Oil on canvas, 72 x 96 inches
Washington, D.C., 2002
Location: Main Library, second floorUnity and Growth by Carole Harrison
Brass and copper sculpture, 9 x 12 x 4 feet
Michigan, 1966
Location: Main Library vestibule, first floorUntitled by Claude Bentley
Oil on canvas, 30 x 40 inches
Chicago
Location: Main Library Study Room E, third floor
Replica Benin bronzes
On display on the Main Library’s third floor, replica Benin bronzes can spark important conversations about pre-colonial African culture and the repatriation of cultural heritage artifacts. The original Benin bronzes, from the Kingdom of Benin in what is now southern Nigeria, are at the heart of debates over appropriated treasures in the museum world. As the Christian Science Monitor put it in an April 2019 article, “Who should be the caretaker of Africa’s cultural heritage–the Africans who created it, or the Europeans in whose museums it has long been displayed?”
The replicas at the library represent artwork from the Kingdom of Benin, or the Edo Empire (circa 1440–1897), a pre-colonial African civilization in the southern region of modern-day Nigeria. The original Benin bronzes were made for the court of the “oba,” or divine ruler, and held ceremonial significance. They represented previous rulers, decorated the palace of the oba, and recorded military histories. The original artworks are now owned by museums around Europe and the United States. The Nigerian government has called several times for their return.
The library’s replicas were among items we received from Oak Park Elementary School District 97 in 2016, when the library assumed ownership of the Multicultural Collection. The replicas are valuable, both culturally and monetarily. Similar pieces cost approximately $500-$3,000 each.
Contested cultural treasures
In 1897, British troops invaded the Kingdom of Benin and looted roughly 1,000 pieces of Benin artwork. Some artifacts were given to the British Museum, and others were auctioned off to pay for the invasion. Most ended up in museums around Europe and the United States, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
According to a 2018 report, about 90% of sub-Saharan Africa’s cultural heritage was located outside the continent. That report called for stolen artifacts to be permanently returned.
Since 2010, the Benin Dialogue Group, made up of museum directors and delegates from both Europe and Nigeria, have been working to bring artifacts back to Nigeria for display in Benin City.
Further reading
Your library card gives you access to full-text, subscription-based resources that Google can’t offer. Below are related articles, available to read online with your library card.
- Kristen Chick, “Art of the steal: European museums wrestle with returning African art,” Christian Science Monitor, April 30, 2019.
- Joseph Nevadomsky, “Casting in Contemporary Benin Art,” African Arts, Summer 2005, Vol. 38 Issue 2, p. 66-95.
- Siddhartha Mitter, “Addressing Returns,” Art in America, March 2019, Vol. 107 Issue 3, p. 21-24.