Item description for Signed Jack Nixon The Museum of Science & Industry Caryatids A/P print Chicago

Located at 5700 South Lake Shore Drive, and part of the city’s vast park system, the neoclassic building upon which the Museum of Science and Industry is housed was built for the World’s Columbian Exhibition of 1893.
Originally, the Palace of Fine Arts was one of fourteen “Great Buildings” in the
exhibition. Its exterior was constructed with wood, lath and, plaster. The Palace
was a very impermanent structure and was planned only to last for the length of
the exhibition.

With the building left standing after the closing of the exhibition, the following
tenant, The Field Columbian Museum (of Natural History) occupied the space until
1920. Its total reconstruction in brick and marble began in 1931 and was completed in 1940. Eight large porches or porticos encircle the building. The ancient architectural design with female columns is at least 2500 years old. The porticos were copied from the Erechtheion Temple on the Acropolis in Athens, Greece. The female forms were labeled “caryatid” for a region in Greece which was noted for
its beautiful, statuesque women.

The original pencil drawing of the portico is 15 x 26? in size and was drawn with
ebony pencils and 2B leaded technical pencils on Stonehenge paper. The work of art took six full weeks to finish in early 1992. The site was first photographed closely to capture the details. Photograph prints of the site were then pieced together and taped into a large collage. This helped the artist illustrate the portico in his studio.

FRAME MEASURES APPROXIAMETELY 16" BY 22" INCHES. PRINT IS ENCASSED IN GLASS.

Jack Nixon A native-born Chicagoan, Jack Nixon graduated in 1975 from New Trier High School in Winnetka, Illinois. While at New Trier he excelled in history, art, and technical, architectural, and engineering drawing.

Mr. Nixon developed formal composition and the aesthetics of positive and negative space at the Cleveland Institute of Art, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Graphic Design Communication. Shortly afterwards, he received a number of merits, including two national design and calligraphy awards from Communication Arts Magazine in San Francisco.

After returning to Chicago in 1984, Jack began to illustrate private homes and public buildings on the North Shore. He also began to notice the serious pride and appreciation Chicagoans had for their architecture. Not having perceived Chicago's architecture in his youth, books he read, lectures and walking tours he took of the city revealed Chicago's heritage and historical significance for the first time. Architectural photography was visible, as was art composed in water color, pen & ink, and oils.

But something was missing in the art of the old buildings he loved to study. Mr. Nixon realized the contemporary art did not complement their excellent craftsmanship; contrary to old, intricate, architectural prints he had seen in his college research. The vast majority of contemporary interpretation was to impressionist to capture their elegance. The warmth and human quality of the beautiful embellishments of the classic stone and terra cotta reliefs were being lost in the art of general street scenes.

And richly detailed, framed European architectural prints of were hanging in corporate offices and retail shops all over town? Prints of old engravings and etchings were filling a void in the art market that should have been filled with ornamental prints of Chicago. Either no one had taken advantage of the opportunity to supply the public these graphics or no one had realized the market's need.

"In the last two decades, an intensified interest in the preservation of our natural environment has evoked a broader understanding of environmental quality: environment is both natural and man-made. This expanded concept of environment is a recognition that buildings and neighborhoods should be preserved for reasons that go beyond historic or architectural significance. A sense of place and cultural continuity are increasingly accepted as genuine needs in American society."

"Equally widespread is the growing recognition that "quality of life" is intimately related to hospitable surroundings- in terms of scale, texture, and a design of place. Architecture is the art that defines our sensabilities more than any other form of visual expression. Warm, natural materials and elements of craftsmanship in ornament bring value to our surroundings. As we build structures of glass and steel that have few elements to celebrate our own humanity, we have grown to appreciate older buildings that relate more to us. Conservation, renovation, or restoration of fine, old buildings made of limestone and terra cotta have helped to save our deteriorating visual urban environment."

But, with little graphic reenforcement, how could the education, awareness, and appreciation of Chicago's classic architecture be manifested more concretely to the public on a day to day basis?

Inspired by the likes of the Italians, GiamBattista Pirenasi and Andrea Palladio, and the French Ecole Des Beaux Arts illustrators, Jack's goal is to give the world high quality drawings and prints of the beautiful architecture, architectural ornament, and monuments produced in late 19th and early 20th century America that will rival the 18th and 19th century graphics of the Europeans.

In 1987 Mr. Nixon began to draw a series of master original pencil drawings that could be reproduced in lithograph, giclee, and gravure prints for the general public. The series is called: CLASSIC CHICAGO: THE ART OF ARCHITECTURAL DRAWING".

Writing stationery cards with matching envelopes are also available of many of the major cultural institutions and landmarks. They are called: "THE MUSEUM OLLECTION," "THE CLASSIC COLLECTION", and "THE ADLER PLANETARIUM ART DECO ZODIAC".