Chicago's Intuit Art Museum gifted 61 works by self-taught artists

"One of those early supporters was Jan Petry (1939-2024), a Chicago advertising executive who filled her home with outsider art. Petry bequeathed 47 works, some by anonymous artists-including an Odd Fellows carved wood staff dating from 1880-and others by Emery Blagdon, James Castle, Ulysses Davis, Charles Dellschau, William Hawkins, Martín Ramírez, Günther Schützenhöfer and Leopold Strobl. Charles Dellschau, Fall Not, 1920 Collection of Intuit Art Museum, gift of Jan Petry and Angie Mills"

"A second gift of 14 works comes from the Los Angeles-based scholar Gordon W. Bailey's collection of African American art. That trove includes works by Sam Doyle, Sybil Gibson, Roy Ferdinand and Mose Tolliver. Bailey, who has been gifting museums with works from his collection over the years, has long been associated with IAM despite living on the West Coast. His gift was in honour of IAM's growth and the $10m expansion it completed last spring."

""Their gifts, which bring new artists' stories into our galleries, strengthen our ability to serve and inspire the many communities who rely on our museum as a place of connection, creativity and discovery," says Debra Kerr, the museum's president and chief executive.She notes that the works donated by Petry will be shown in the gallery named after her in the upcoming exhibition Life is an Art: The Collection of Jan Petry (9 April 2026-21 March 2027)."

The Intuit Art Museum in Chicago will add 61 works to its collection through two significant gifts. Jan Petry bequeathed 47 works, including anonymous pieces and works by Emery Blagdon, James Castle, Ulysses Davis, Charles Dellschau, William Hawkins, Martín Ramírez, Günther Schützenhöfer and Leopold Strobl, plus an 1880 Odd Fellows carved wood staff. Gordon W. Bailey donated 14 works from his collection of African American art, including pieces by Sam Doyle, Sybil Gibson, Roy Ferdinand and Mose Tolliver. The additions broaden representation of self-taught and African American artists, support inclusion of more women of colour, and coincide with IAM's recent $10m expansion. Petry's works will be shown in a gallery named after her in an exhibition scheduled for April 2026–March 2027.

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