Index of Articles and Essays

Peter Busa Poster Peter Busa

The lead-up to Peter Busa's exhibition at the University Gallery in 1966 held some dramatic twists and turns. Busa was a professor of art at the University of Minnesota at the time. Just 3 months before his show was to be installed in the University Gallary, a vandal broke into his studio and slashed, burned, and otherwise damaged or destroyed many of Busa's paintings.

Busa worked quickly to repair and repaint the canvases that could be salvaged, and created new works to fill in for destroyed ones. His solo show went forward as planned, somewhat miraculously.
Ernst Josephson poster Ernst Josephson

Thanks to the keen eyes and wits of the University Archives staff, we found a trove of posters for University Gallery exhibitions throughout its history. They are beautiful remembrances of the shows, particularly many of the colorful posters from the 1960s. We'll be featuring some of these posters throughout the next few months, along with images from the gallery and openings.
a person archiving A Packed House

Packing artwork or other delicate artifacts is something of an art itself, and museums need to have it down pat. The objects must fit snugly and be protected from jostling and the elements. This is particularly tricky with traveling exhibits, such as this 1984 show Making America Strong: World War II Posters, created by the University Art Museum. These polaroids document the behind-the-scenes packing process (or perhaps unpacking, it's hard to tell!) of the framed posters at the Museum.
stapler remover The Little Staple Remover That Could

Clip. Snap. Pull. Snip.

The little staple remover separated papers that contained private or confidential information. The WAM Files project staple remover was a happy little staple remover for she had such a "jolly load" of confidential materials to separate!
Institute of Design Exhibition Institute of Design Exhibition, 1948

Another early look into the composition and content of the exhibit spaces of the University Gallery in Northrop Auditorium is captured in these photos of the Institute of Design Exhibition, held January 26-February 25, 1948.

According to a UM News Release from January 20, 1948 (Digital Conservancy), the exhibit was "a comprehensive exhibition of almost 300 examples of work done by faculty members and students of the Institute of Design in Chicago."