You may have noticed a sign for the Jane Addams Research Center next to the deep red exterior of a two-storey building along Main Street in St. Joseph. This quiet organization was founded by scholars Michael R. Hill and his late life-partner Mary Jo Deegan. Its focus on the historic sociologist, settlement leader, and Nobel Peace Prize winner Jane Addams and her influential network of male and female colleagues has taken many forms, including an expansive collection of artworks resulting from the expertise, training, and inspiration of the art school at the Hull-House social settlement in Chicago (Hull commemorates the name of the home’s original owner). The Hull-House Art School, established by Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr, with Enella Benedict as its first director, provided classes and studio space for youngsters and adults alike from 1893 onward to the 1960s. It was an important, but underappreciated, cultural phenomenon in Chicago. In this exhibition, artworks range from functional to fine art and include commemorative medallions, artist-illustrated books and calendars, novels, jewelry, metalwork, fabrics, ceramics, prints, maps, drawings, and paintings. These works — from the late eighteenth to the mid-twentieth century — represent the deep impact contributed by a community art center and highlight the affiliated artists who made them. While some are little known, several artists in the exhibition are prominent in Chicago collections (including the Art Institute of Chicago) and are found in museums, homes, and other repositories throughout the United States.

Michael R. Hill has curated the exhibit and is preparing an exhibition catalog. Dr. Hill has served as a docent at the Krasl Art Center and is an astute interdisciplinary scholar who is ever learning and engaging with the arts of Chicago and Southwest Michigan.