New Role For Governor’s Mansion: Art Museum
Newly renovated mansion + artwork on display (descriptions & more artwork in slide show.) Rachel Otwell/NPR Illinois
The Illinois Governor’s Mansion is recently renovated and has re-opened for tourists, who tend to go for the historical significance. There’s also a new reason for art enthusiasts to check it out.
The Art of Illinois exhibition features works from the 1800s up until 2016. The works include musical instruments, furniture, and many paintings. Justin Blandford is the mansion curator, he says the idea is to have the building serve as a "world class fully functioning museum."
The work is viewable during normal tour hours and takes up two floors. Art historian Wendy Glasshouse was a co-curator. She gathered portraits, landscapes, and representational as well as well as abstract art. Glasshouse said she was intent on being inclusive, "Artists of color and women artists, in particular, was something I was very focused on." The art will be up through January, and Blandford says the goal is to continue to show various art collections at the mansion. \
You can see a slideshow of some of the artwork being displayed in the governor's mansion below. All photos by Rachel Otwell/NPR Illinois.
