Famed artist slams city’s plan to sell his painting to fund regional library
A prominent artist is slamming a city plan to sell one of his paintings to pay for a regional library on the West Side — even as four aldermen strongly defend that decision.
Kerry James Marshall’s painting, “Knowledge and Wonder,” hangs in the Legler branch library, 115 S. Pulaski Rd. Mayor Rahm Emanuel wants to sell it and use the $15 million-plus in proceeds to turn Legler into a regional library.
Marshall isn’t happy about that, according to ARTnews magazine.
Given that last year, the city “dedicated another mural I designed downtown for which I was asked to accept one dollar, you could say the City of Big Shoulders has wrung every bit of value they could from the fruits of my labor,” the magazine quoted him as saying. Marshall was apparently referring to a mural he painted at the Chicago Cultural Center; he spoke at the unveiling in December.
“I am certain they could get more money if they sold the Picasso sculpture in Daley Plaza.”
The plan also was criticized by Civic Federation President Laurence Msall. He complained it paid only for the renovation without providing money to operate a regional library over the long term.
But four West Side aldermen fired back at Msall on Thursday. Aldermen Michael Scott Jr. (24th), Walter Burnett (27th), Jason Ervin (28th) and Emma Mitts (37th) wrote Msall a letter saying they have a “better pulse” on what the West Side needs.
“Every time a new investment is coming to the West Side, critics from other parts of the city’s can’t wait to shoot it down and tell us what’s best for our neighborhoods,” the letter states — an apparent reference to the furor over a new $95 million police academy in West Garfield Park.
“Here’s something you may not know: We have not had a regional library with weekend hours on the West Side in over 40 years. That’s two generations of children who grew up in our neighborhoods without the same amenities families everywhere else in the city take for granted.”
Making Legler a regional library would restore a status it previously held until the 1970s.
It would require the city to spend about $11.2 million to expand the 36,000-square-foot library and another $1.7 million a year to expand its programming and operating hours to match the city’s two other regional libraries.
To do that, Emanuel made what Cultural Affairs and Special Events Commissioner Mark Kelly called the “difficult” decision to sell off Marshall’s painting, which hangs on the second floor of the Legler branch.
To appease public art aficionados, Emanuel would create a public art fund to support art projects in under-served communities.
The sale will be handled by Christie’s Auction House. City Hall is counting on it to generate upwards of $15 million.
None of that sits well with Msall. That’s because it’s “not tied to an operating plan.”
But the letter from West Side aldermen, obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times, essentially tells the Civic Federation president to butt out.
“What we do not appreciate and will not countenance is when people who do not live in our communities, work in our communities or raise families in our communities think they know what is best for our communities,” the letter states.
As a regional library, Legler will be open six days a week and finally feature a stateof-the-art computer center as well as a community center that will help West Side residents “connect with job opportunities and city services,” the letter states.
“Chicagoans in other communities already enjoy access to these amenities. A new regional library in West Garfield Park will help put an end to this decades-old disparity and right an historic wrong,” the aldermen wrote, calling the project a “significant down-payment on a more equitable future” for Chicago.