Fassbender, Ingrid Ursula
Ingrid Ursula Fassbender, age 78, Preeminent Gallerist, Curator, and Art Consultant passed away peacefully at home in Chicago, with her devoted husband of 32 years, Bruce MacGilpin, by her side on December 12, 2022. Ingrid was energetic, determined to make her mark, and overcame the many obstacles life put in her way. She was born in war-torn Germany in April 1944. As a toddler, she contracted tuberculosis and spent many months separated from her family at a TB sanatorium. Her mother contracted polio from the drinking water of a small town she had stopped at following a visit to the sanatorium. The father and children all had to share in the duties of assisting an invalid mother. In 1955, at 11 years old, Ingrid and her family migrated to the United States and settled near Algona, Iowa. She and her brother Tod did not speak English, and there was no indoor bathroom, but as kids these hardships did not spoil their adventure. They made friends, shared their culture with the local farmers’ children, and attended a one-room school house. Eventually, her father found work in Maywood, Illinois, and the family moved to their new American suburban life. Unfortunately, the extensive X-ray treatments Ingrid had received as a child led to thyroid cancer as a teenager. She recovered after several surgeries before graduating from Proviso East High School in Maywood in 1962. She then attended the University of Illinois at Navy Pier. Ingrid had two children during her first marriage, Michelle and Bryan McDonald. She remarried and became a stepmom to two more children. While raising four kids, she returned to school and earned a degree in Occupational Therapy. In anatomy class, she had studied hard and learned the names of all 206 bones in the human body, but it was in the art courses where she found inspiration. Her professor, also an artist, believed Ingrid’s vivacious, outgoing personality and enthusiasm for the arts would make her the perfect person to represent her art work. An art dealer was born! She began in California and, after a move to Chicago, sold commercial art at Circle Gallery. Ingrid then moved on to work at various contemporary art galleries such as Joy Horwich Gallery (where she met her future husband Bruce MacGilpin), Esther Saks Gallery, Van Straaten Gallery, and then became director of the German-owned Asberger-Bischoff Gallery. During this time, she was also President of the Board of the New Art Examiner and active with the Chicago Artist’s Coalition. She married Bruce MacGilpin in 1990. Together they collaborated on many projects related to The Icon Group, Inc – the fine art services company she helped develop with Mr. MacGilpin - as well as public art commissions and international Art Fairs for the Fassbender Gallery which she opened in 1993. Ingrid had boundless curiosity and hungered for culture in everything she did. She loved fashion, reading, film, music, her dogs and traveling to museums worldwide. She championed the exchange of art and ideas between Chicago artists and the International community which became the foundation of her gallery’s pursuits. No one loved being an art dealer more than Ingrid. Fassbender Gallery hosted numerous cultural events, including avant-garde music, panel discussions, and guest speakers, in addition to its busy schedule of engaging visual art exhibits. Even though Fassbender Gallery closed in 2003, Ingrid continued her avid support of local art organizations. She later operated as an independent curator and consultant. Ingrid was preceded in death by her parents Christian Wilhelm Fassbender and Liselotte (Klonk) Fassbender. She is survived by her husband, Bruce MacGilpin, and children from her first marriage, daughter Michelle Nachtrieb (Edward), son Bryan McDonald (Lyn Pusztai), her brother Tod Fassbender (Lynette), along with four grandsons, Evan Nachtrieb, Quinn Nachtrieb, Dane McDonald and Gavin McDonald, along with niece Sebrina Fassbender and nephew Ethan Fassbender. Her children and grandchildren will miss her irreplaceable bright spirit and love for creativity. She was also greatly loved by her husband’s family and the many artists and friends from her numerous years involved in the arts. She will be dearly missed by all whose lives she so passionately touched. Ingrid and her husband send a heartfelt thank you to all the doctors, social workers, and loving caretakers who helped her manage her Lewy Body Dementia since 2015. A celebration of life memorial service is planned for early March in Chicago. Service details are pending and will be posted on the Michalik Funeral Home website, www.michalikfuneralhome.com, once confirmed. In Lieu of Flowers, donations may be sent to: Lewy Body Dementia Association at: lbda. org; or the animal rescue organization of your choice. For further information call 312-421-0936.
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