09/23/2026
In the month of October we will be showing local artist, Warren Doug Smith's Hall of Fame Cubs Series tribute boxes on the second floor. Be sure to check them out while you are here.
Artist's Statement:
For generations of Chicago sports fans, our legendary 'Old Timer' Hall of Fame players, icons of their era, provided more than just a summer-filled entertainment outlet. They created a vital sense of community, joy, and hope, during times of national economic depressions and World Wars. This exhibition honors the enduring emotional bond between the players and fans. I have focused on Chicago Cub HOF heros: Ernie Banks, the beloved "Mr. Cub", whose infectious optimism and athletic brilliance defined an era, as well as his Brothers-in-Joy, Ron Santo, Ryne Sandberg, Andre Dawson, and Billy Williams, and Hall of Fame Broadcaster, Harry Caray.
My work aims to capture not just the memory of their heroic play and on-field performance stats of these Hall of Famers, but to also remind us of their humanity and the profound affection they elicited from the people of Chicago.
To build these tribute boxes of memories, I look to the tangible artifacts from the past. I carefully curate online auction sites seeking to capture historic baseball memorabilia items that reach back into each player’s career, and bring them together with select vintage photographs, autographed items, pins, and patches. These objects are my paint. The hard raw, 'friendly confines' of a 13x20x4 in. wooden open-face w**e box serves as my canvas. I combine eye-candy graphics, bright colors, and nostalgic photos in these boxes. They all contribute to my goal. I seek to create beautiful, unified time capsule images with visual appeal, contextual memories, and careful composition.
