Art League celebrates 75 years

May 13, 2010

By JIM NEWTON jnewton@stmedianetwork.com


The Lake County Art League — celebrating its 75th anniversary this year — is both nowhere and everywhere in Lake County.

While periodic attempts over the years to find a building to house the League have stalled, the artwork created by its membership can be found across the county, from the Lake Villa Public Library to the Warren Township Senior Center and the Jack Benny Center for the Arts in Waukegan.



















Mary Neely sits beneath art on display at the show. Artwork is (from left) "Waiting for a Ride" by Deb Edmunds of Round Lake Beach, "Daley Plaza" by Jim Brooksher of Grayslake, "Deborah" by Linda Kollacks of Libertyville and "Still Life With Carrots" by Jackie Carmichael of Waukegan.

(Thomas Delany Jr./News-Sun)



Its members meet most months in Grayslake, as well as attending monthly workshops offering tips on a wide variety of artistic styles and mediums. Those involved with the group range from professional artists to art lovers.

“We have demonstrations almost every month. The educational opportunities are tremendous,” said Mary Neely, a photographer and member of the League’s Board of Directors. “You don’t have to be an artist, you can just like art.”

Through group’s “On the Wall” program, members can have their artwork displayed in libraries, restaurants and conference centers across Lake County. The League also hold spring and fall member shows and sponsor an annual fine arts festival.

In addition to socializing with other artists and learning new art forms, the Art League’s 170 members also work to encourage new artists. The League awards a scholarship each year to a College of Lake County art student.

“We want to further interest in the arts in Lake County,” Neely said.

Art League President Ali Albakri said the League provides an opportunity to socialize with other artists and gives members an avenue to have their works displayed. He said the monthly demonstration workshops also encourage artists to branch into other branches of art in addition to their specialty.

For Albakri, a love of photography, as well as encouragement from a friend, helped bring him to the Art League.

“My heart is in photography,” he said. I’ve been taking pictures all of my life.”

Artwork in the Art League’s Spring Members Show, currently on display at the Jack Benny Center for the Arts in Waukegan, includes oil paintings, watercolors, charcoal drawings, wood sculpture, pastels, acrylics, encaustics and mixed media.

That range of artistic mediums has expanded greatly from the Art League’s beginnings in the 1930s, when members primarily worked with oils and watercolors, but the spirit remains the same.

The Lake County Art League was initiated by T.W.F. Davies, a woman who had been a founding member of the North Shore Art League before moving from Winnetka to Waukegan.

Davies and several friends started the Art League in her home in October 1934, and its membership grew quickly. Its first exhibition was held at the Karcher Hotel on Nov. 3 of that year, and featured 150 paintings.

From that time forward, the group has faithfully held two public exhibits each year, one in the spring and one in the fall.

The League’s roots began in Waukegan and it still holds a strong membership there, but it has expanded its influence to include all of Lake County and beyond, with current members including residents of Northbrook and Lake Geneva, Wis.

Neely said most of the group’s events are free and open to the public, even its membership meetings, so people interested in the arts have plenty of opportunities to become acquainted with the League.

“People who come as guests often end up joining,” she said.