The Aurora Historical Society is adding a series of five talks by Aurora-area art experts to the Spring exhibit on display at the Pierce Art and History Center at 20 E. Downer Place in Aurora.
Entitled Aurora’s Own Ruth Van Sickle Ford, the show features more than 30 watercolors by the mid-century artist who owned the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts, taught thousands of aspiring artists and exhibited her own works widely, winning awards throughout the country.
She commissioned a futuristic house by architect Bruce Goff where she lived for a dozen years.
Ford’s biographer, Nancy Smith Hopp, will make two presentations, and there will be additional talks by framing specialist Tim Frederick of If These Walls Could Talk Custom Framing and Gallery and art conservator Scott Sherwood.
The series will begin Saturday March 18 with a talk on framing art by Frederick, followed by a Sunday, March 26 presentation on the many facets of Ruth Ford’s life given by Hopp.
There will be a talk on Ford’s place in American art history given by Sherwood Saturday, April 15 and one on her design techniques, by Sherwood Saturday, April 29.
The final talk will be by Hopp on the topic of Ford’s famous students and friends Sunday, May 7. All talks will begin at 2 p.m. and require reservations either online at www.aurorahistory.org, or by calling 630-755-5657.
— Aurora Historical Society