![](\"https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1792084737/qrikvx76nvvt5agq24rq.jpg\")
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\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n","body":"By GINNY VAN ALYEA
\r\n\r\nRichard Gray has died at age 89. He passed away yesterday at home in Chicago.
\r\n\r\nGray founded The Richard Gray Gallery on November 4, 1963, at 155 E. Ontario. Today the gallery, which includes a location in the John Hancock Center downtown and a West Side Warehouse venue, as well as a Madison Avenue space in New York, will continue under the leadership of Gray's son Paul, and partners Andrew Fabricant and Valerie Carberry.
\r\n\r\nAs of 2012 the gallery’s sales were just under $100 million, and clients included more than 10 percent of the Forbes 400 list, including nine members from the Chicago area, as well as collectors and museum curators from Europe, Asia, the Middle East and South America.
\r\n\r\nThe gallery started out modestly in the early 1960s. With a young family at home at the time, Gray had been looking for a new career after working for his father's construction business for several years. Gray's wife Mary Kay Lackritz grew up in a family of art collectors, and Gray, who was trained as an architect, was inspired to follow his own passion for art and open a gallery that would allow him to make a personal passion into a profession.
\r\n\r\nEventually the gallery occupied 620 N. Michigan Ave. for nearly 30 years, before moving in 1995 to the 25th floor of 875 N. Michigan in the John Hancock Center, and today the 38th floor. Gray Warehouse opened in April 2017 at 2044 W. Carroll in the Kinzie Industrial Corridor in West Town.
\r\n\r\nAccording to Natalie van Straaten, founding publisher of Chicago Gallery News and former Executive Director of the Chicago Art Dealers Association (CADA), "Richard Gray was not only recognized and respected in the international art world, but he also helped transform the Chicago art gallery world with vision, guidance and generosity. He was a mentor and model of integrity for other dealers; his encouragement of establishing the CADA, as well as the first international art exposition in Chicag, helped put our city on the map. His gallery’s exhibitions of extraordinary artists brought greatness to the city (including Jaume Plensa to the Crown Fountain) and his philanthropy went well beyond the visual arts and the cultural life of Chicago."
\r\n\r\nGray helped found the CADA in 1967 and was one of its early presidents (1967–1975). He was elected president of the Art Dealers Association of America (ADAA) in 1998, notably the first dealer based outside of New York to hold the position. He served on the board of the Art Institute of Chicago, where an extensive collection of prints and drawings collected by Gray and his wife Mary are shown. He was also a passionate supporter of the Chicago Symphony Orchestr, The Chicago Humanities Festival, and the Smart Museum of Art at the University of Chicago. A center for artistic and scholarly collaboration, the Richard and Mary L. Gray Center for Arts and Inquiry, opened on the campus of the University of Chicago in 2013.
\r\n\r\nIn a 2013 interview with CGN Gray recalled, “Maybe because of my architecture background, I had a particular interest in draftsmanship, prints and drawings. When I opened the gallery, I had the idea that I’d be handling that kind of thing, and that’s what happened. I started out by representing established and emerging artists primarily working on paper.”
\r\n\r\nGray's reach continued to expand, and he went on to sell art in a range of mediums by such well known artists as Jules Olitski, Morris Louis, Louise Nevelson, Hans Hofmann, Fernand Léger and Jim Dine. The gallery roster continued to grow over the decades to feature David Hockney, Josef Albers, Joseph Cornell, Richard Diebenkorn, Willem de Kooning, Philip Guston, Roy Lichtenstein, Agnes Martin, Henry Moore, Robert Motherwell, Pablo Picasso, Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, David Smith, Cy Twombly and Andy Warhol, among many others. Gray also significantly represented aboriginal and African art.
\r\n\r\n“My standards were about trusting my own eye, my own sense of aesthetics,” Gray recalled. “It wasn’t the particular style or period that interested me; it was the individual work of art.”
\r\n\r\n“They were the best gallery in Chicago, as far as I was concerned,” said artist Jim Dine in 2013, still one of the Grays’ most-shown artists. “Richard has a tremendous eye and a great world view, and he was really the only truly international gallery in Chicago for a long time. I was very pleased to be there.”
\r\n\r\nvan Straaten said, "[Richard] will be missed, but what a great legacy he left for Chicago."
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
To read CGN's 2013 interview with Paul Gray on the occasion of the gallery's 50th anniversary, click here.
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By CGN STAFF
Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center will reopen its Skokie location on November 11, 2026, following a renovation that expands visitor spaces, updates its core Holocaust exhibition and adds a new reflection gallery. The reopening is timed to coincide with Veterans Day. Active military personnel, veterans and their families will receive free admission that day.
The project includes a redesigned Lillian & Larry Goodman Auditorium and Gallery, an enlarged lobby in the Shapiro Family Foundation Welcome Center, and a refreshed Resilience Hall with an expanded stage for presentations and public programs.
Updates to the Zev & Shifra Karkomi Holocaust Exhibition include additional material on the roots of antisemitism, the story of Chicago resident Leo Edelman, and the experiences of other groups targeted by the Nazis. A new reflection gallery, accessible from the exhibition, offers visitors a quiet space during and after their visit.
“Every visitor’s experience now begins differently and runs deeper,” said Kelley Szany, the Museum’s senior vice president of education and exhibitions. “The new welcome center sets the tone from the moment people arrive, the enhanced core Holocaust exhibition brings the history and the voices of survivors into sharper focus, and our new auditorium gives us a place to gather, listen, and talk about what it means for our communities today.”
Existing attractions, including the virtual reality theater, the interactive Survivor Stories Experience holographic theater, the Take A Stand Center and the Voices of Genocide Exhibition, will remain part of the Museum’s offerings.
Following the reopening, Blacklist: The Hollywood Red Scare will open November 15 in the special exhibition gallery. Created by and on loan from Jewish Museum Milwaukee, the exhibition examines the intersections of politics, antisemitism, freedom of speech and national security during the Red Scare of the 1940s and 1950s. It will remain on view through March 2027.
The Museum’s satellite location in Chicago’s River North neighborhood, Experience360, will remain open through December 31, 2026. The downtown space opened during the Skokie renovation to provide continued access to the Museum’s immersive exhibitions.
For information and ticket reservations, visit ilholocaustmuseum.org.
Image: Museum exterior. Photo by David Seide/Definedspace.com
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By GINNY VAN ALYEA
SOFA Chicago, the longtime fair devoted to sculpture, objects, functional art and collectible design, will return to the city October 28–31, 2027, as part of Chicago Art Fair at THE MART, which opened its inaugural edition last night.
Founded in Chicago in 1994, SOFA became a popular fixture on the city’s fall arts calendar. For much of its history, collectors and visitors gathered at Navy Pier to discover works in glass, ceramics, wood, metal and fiber, alongside sculpture and design. Its focus on materials and craftsmanship gave the fair a distinct identity and cultivated a devoted audience.
The announcement comes as the inaugural Chicago Art Fair gets underway at THE MART. The new fair opened with a preview on October 7 and continues through October 10, presenting modern and contemporary art. Tim von Gal, CEO and producer of SOFA Chicago and CEO of Intersect Art and Design, was in Chicago this week for the occasion.
Organizers describe the 2027 collaboration as two distinct but complementary presentations under one roof, with SOFA’s focus on three-dimensional art and design alongside Chicago Art Fair’s broader offerings.
“Chicago has always been an extraordinary home for SOFA and a city with a deep appreciation for art, craft, architecture and design,” said von Gal in the announcement. “Joining the Chicago Art Fair at THE MART gives us the opportunity to build upon that legacy while creating an exciting new experience for collectors and exhibitors alike.”
Eric Smith, owner of Chicago Art Fair and CEO of Redwood Art Group, said the addition would broaden the fair’s scope while preserving SOFA’s identity.
“SOFA has a remarkable legacy and a distinct identity, and its return adds an important new dimension to the fair while reinforcing Chicago’s position as a destination for collectors, galleries and art lovers from around the world,” Smith said.
For those who remember SOFA as an annual opportunity to encounter ambitious work in craft and design, the return will be welcome news. The participating galleries and programming, still to be announced, will provide a fuller picture of how that legacy will take shape in its new setting.
SOFA Chicago is produced by Intersect Art and Design, which also organizes annual art and design fairs in Aspen and Palm Springs.
Additional details about exhibitors, partnerships and tickets are expected in the coming months.
Visit chicagoartfair.com for updates.
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The artist Richard Hunt
By CGN Staff
Pigment International has dedicated Black Fine Art Month 2026 to Chicago sculptor Richard Hunt (1935–2023), recognizing his contributions to American art and his lifelong connection to the city.
As part of the month’s programming, the organization will host Pigmented: Chicago to the World — A Black Fine Art Convening on October 23 at the University of Chicago’s Logan Center for the Arts. Partners include the Richard Hunt Legacy Foundation, Adler University, CAI Designs, Chicago Public Art Group, Chicago Sculpture Exhibit and Diasporal Rhythms.
Born and raised on Chicago’s South Side, Hunt developed an internationally recognized practice while continuing to live and work in his hometown. His welded metal sculptures brought together abstract forms, references to the natural world and an enduring interest in freedom and social justice.
Hunt identified attending Emmett Till’s funeral in 1955 as a turning point in his artistic life. Till had lived just two blocks from Hunt’s home. Decades later, Hunt’s public commissions would honor figures including Martin Luther King Jr., Mary McLeod Bethune, Jesse Owens and Ida B. Wells, while also addressing the Middle Passage and the Great Migration.
In 1968, President Lyndon Johnson appointed Hunt to the National Council on the Arts, where he became its first African American member. In 1971, at age 35, he became the first African American sculptor to receive a retrospective at New York’s Museum of Modern Art. His career encompassed more than 150 solo exhibitions and more than 160 public art installations.
![](\"https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1791479104/lltcodkx39gd8sbhtus1.png\")
Richard Hunt with artist Chris Devins, who recently completed a mural honoring the sculptor in Hyde Park. Photo courtesy of Chris Devins.
Recent projects in Chicago offer new ways to encounter Hunt’s work and history. This fall, the Logan Center opened the Hunt, a café honoring the artist. Created and designed by Little Black Pearl founder and executive director Monica Haslip, the space incorporates two Hunt sculptures, African art, archival materials and photographs by Sandro Miller.
In Hyde Park, artist Chris Devins and historian Michelle Duster have brought a mural of Hunt to 1515–19 E. 54th Street. The portrait is based on photographs Devins took in Hunt’s studio before the sculptor’s death.
“Richard Hunt was a giant in the arts world and people need to see what he looked like and be inspired by his legacy,” Devins said.
Pigment International’s dedication also reflects its own relationship with Hunt. The organization featured him in its magazine in 2020, and he welcomed its Black Fine Art Month programming into his studio in October 2021.
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Two events take place this month:
Pigment International at SPECTRUM Chicago Art Fair
October 7–10, 2026.
Chicago Merchandise Mart, seventh floor, booth #3091.
Wednesday, October 7, 5–8 pm, with a champagne toast in the booth and an artist meet-and-greet.
Thursday, October 8, 6-8pm with Diasporal Rhythms
Featured artists: Jesse Howard, Howard Simmons, Edo, Candace Hunter, Sura DuPart and Max Sansing.
Additional events are taking place during the fair
Chicago to the World: A Black Fine Art Month Convening
Presented by Pigment International as part of Black Fine Art Month, which the organization has dedicated this year to Richard Hunt.
Friday, October 23, 2026, 11:30 am–5 pm.
Logan Center for the Arts, 915 E. 60th Street, Chicago.
Details at pigmentintl.com