Sylvia Shaw Judson (American, 1897-1978)
The Reader, 1946/1961
(Variant title: Boy Reading, source: “For Gardens and Other Places; The Sculpture of Sylvia Shaw Judson,” by Sylvia Shaw Judson)
Bronze
24 ½ x 17 ½ x 18 in.
Gift of the Marjorie and Richard Ettlinger and Laurie and Alan Reinstien families in memory of Viola and Lawrence Stein and Ruth and Bernard Nath

Sylvia Shaw Judson grew up in Lake Forest and was the daughter of well-known architect Howard Van Doren Shaw and the poet Frances (Wells) Shaw. Judson studied at The School of the Art Institute in Chicago on and off between 1915 and 1918 and later in Paris at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière. Her works have been exhibited in museums, at Chicago’s Century of Progress Exposition (1933), and at the New York World’s Fair (1939). Shaw’s work can be found in the collection of the White House, in the offices of the President of the Philippines, and at the Massachusetts State House.

Sylvia Shaw Judson received much posthumous attention in the late 1990s when her Bird Girl sculpture (1938) appeared on the cover of the book “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil,” by John Berendt. The sculpture also appeared in the opening scene of the movie with the same title.

The Reader is the first sculpture patrons approach when entering the Library. It is one of the most familiar and loved works of art in the Library, and a magnet to the younger set of library users.

William Keating (American, b. 1932)
Sky Lark, 1978
Welded and Polished Aluminum
111 ½ x 40 in. diameter
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Stanley L. Harris and the Illinois Arts Council

William (Bill) Keating is a self-taught artist from Northbrook, Illinois who specializes in hand-formed welded aluminum. Keating originally worked in advertising, but changed his direction mid-career and became a sculptor in 1973. Keating’s work is part of the collections of the Palatine, Illinois Public Library, Standard Oil of Indiana and the Oakton Sculpture Park in Des Plaines, Illinois. In a 1976 documentary about Keating, the artist described his works as “an abstract view of his sense of balance with nature.” He said, “I see metal as part of nature, coming raw from the earth, then refined by man. I strive to bring it back to nature by treating it as part of earth to be formed and managed.” The title of this kinetic sculpture was chosen as a metaphor for the human search for knowledge.

Designed by Tricia Takata
Executed by Annette and Craig Corbin
Stained Glass Panel, 1995
Stained glass
Framed: 28 ¾ x 40 ½ in.
Gift of family and friends of Carol Muir in her memory

Tricia Takata, a North Shore School District 112 art teacher, designed the stained glass panel to reflect nature and books, the interests of Carol Muir, a longtime employee in the Library's Youth Services Department. Annette and Craig Corbin of Mountain Light Glassworks in Highland Park created the panel which was dedicated in December 1995.

Beth Shadur (American, b. 1954)
Nature Mural, 2006
Acrylic mural
100 x 54 in.

Beth Shadur, a Highland Park artist and Artist-in-Education for the Illinois Arts Council, has created over 125 large murals as public, private and community art projects in the United States and Great Britain. She has exhibited widely in the United States and abroad. Her work has been exhibited at the Art Institute of Chicago and other museums across the country and is included in many private and public collections.

This mural, located at the entrance of the Youth Services Department, was commissioned to announce the renovation of the Youth Services Department in 2006.

Sylvia Shaw Judson (American, 1897-1978)
Benediction, ca. 1950s
Sand cast plaster bas relief
61 x 36 ½ x 5 ½ in.
Gift of the artist in 1974

Sylvia Shaw Judson grew up in Lake Forest and was the daughter of well-known architect Howard Van Doren Shaw and the poet Frances (Wells) Shaw. Judson studied at The School of the Art Institute in Chicago on and off between 1915 and 1918 and later in Paris at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière. Her works have been exhibited in museums, at Chicago’s Century of Progress Exposition (1933), and at the New York World’s Fair (1939). Shaw’s work can be found in the collection of the White House, in the offices of the President of the Philippines, and at the Massachusetts State House.

Sylvia Shaw Judson received much posthumous attention in the late 1990s when her Bird Girl sculpture (1938) appeared on the cover of the book “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil,” by John Berendt. The sculpture also appeared in the opening scene of the movie with the same title.

Benediction is located over the doorway leading to the Adult Services Department. The relief is an image of a woman and was originally made as a prototype for a stone angel that Sylvia Shaw Judson created for the Presbyterian-St. Luke Church in Downers Grove in 1951.