![\"\"](\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2835/original/boyd30th-copy.jpg\")
By GINNY VAN ALYEA
Veteran art dealer Roy Boyd passed away this morning, according to friend and long-time gallery artist Betty Cleeland. Boyd is survived by four sisters.
Boyd's eponymous gallery, which he opened with his late wife Ann in 1972, closed in October 2014 after 42 years in business. Boyd served as president of the Chicago Art Dealers Association from 2003–2007, and the gallery participated in the original International Art Exposition at Navy Pier in the 1980s as well as Art Chicago and other international art fairs for many years.
The Boyds opened Roy Boyd Gallery first in suburban Western Springs, before moving in 1976 to downtown Chicago near the original site of the Museum of Contemporary Art (the museum opened in 1967 at 237 East Ontario). In 1979 they moved to West Superior Street to the second floor above Young Hoffman Gallery, along with Jack Lemon's Landfall Press. In a 2012 CGN interview Ann Boyd recalled, \"It was a wonderful time. There was hardly any activity during the day, but people who came to see us came for a purpose. We were all feeling pressure to have higher ceilings, more space for art, more elbowroom during openings. Some artists thought we were crazy, until they saw the big spaces and recognized the sense of camraderie. Our insurance when we started was $1,500 a month because our agent thought all of our windows would be smashed.\" By 1983 16 galleries had opened in what would soon be known as River North.
The gallery's ultimate home was at 739 N. Wells, where the couple lived in an apartment above the gallery. Boyd opened a second location in Los Angeles from 1981–1993.
Roy became a personal friend during my early years working at Chicago Gallery News and the Chicago Art Dealers Association with Natalie van Straaten, and he continued to be a great supporter throughout my first years as CGN publisher. He was good company, whether he was stopping by our old lower level office on Franklin for a CADA meeeting or just a long chat.
One of my favorite memories is from one day in 2007, quite a while before the 2008 presidential election, when attention in town and around the country was growing around Barack Obama. The CGN office was still located at 730 N. Franklin, in the lower level of the Central Arts Building and underneath Andrew Bae Gallery. One of the other tenants in the building was David Axelrod, who was advising Obama at the time. Because his profile was still low, Obama would come to the building for meetings from time to time. One day, while Roy was on my couch for one of our usual chats, we noticed a large SUV pull-up outside the building entrance and saw Obama dash in with his security detail. Others noticed too and gathered to wait in growing numbers. After waiting long enough hoping to glimpse the state senator another time, Roy decided it was time to walk back to the gallery. Wearing his own signature all-black outfit and ball cap, Boyd opened the front door of the Central Arts Building and strode outside into the crowd, which in its frenzy to snap pictures of Obama, ended up with pictures instead of a friendly, but certainly not politically famous, local art dealer, smiling at his mistaken celebrity.
![\"\"](\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/chigal/rich/rich_files/rich_files/2836/original/roy2.jpg\")
Roy was always good for a joke and a laugh. His openings promoted and honored his artists and served as gatherings for many art world friends. The post-opening dinners he and Ann threw in their apartment above the gallery were a special chance to relax and connect with new friends and old while celebrating the artist of the evening.
Boyd's gallery roster was packed with artists who worked primarily in abstraction. Many painted in vibrant colors and used bold textures, while other artists worked in sculpture using wood, or metal. Over the years represented and exhibited artists included, to name a few, William Conger, Sarah Krepp, Betty Cleeland, Roland Ginzel, Daniel Bodner, Jay Phillips, Joan Livingston, Carlos Estrada-Vega, Jerome Powers, Anne Wilson, Mark Arctander, Teo González, Dan Ramirez, Jay Kelly, John Fraser, Mario Trejo, Brigitte Riesebrodt, Buzz Spector, Joel Perlman, Vadim Katznelson, and Markus Linnenbrink. Many area collections began at the Boyds' gallery, as visitors were drawn in as much by the friendly and knowledgeable dealers as the accessible and appealing art.
Roy and Ann kept things interesting for the gallery and for themselves until the end, as they continued to take on new artists whose art they just enjoyed and whose friendship they cherished. In 2013 to mark four decades in business, the Boyds let their artists take over the commeorative exhibition. At the time Boyd said, \"We're going to just have a group show for our 40th anniversary. We're letting our artists submit their favorite old work, or they can submit something new. We just wanted to recognize the people we've worked so well with.\"
Ann Boyd passed away in April 2013. Roy is now greatly missed as well.
This post will be updated as we confirm more details.
Top image: Roy and Ann Boyd, 2007.
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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.
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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