May 18th 2021

Joseph Elmer Yoakum (1891-1972) spent the last decade of his life as a prolific self-taught artist who made highly original and captivating drawn landscapes, evocations of places around the world. Created in the privacy of his home studio, Yoakum’s work was discovered by an instructor at Chicago State College, where he had his first exhibition in 1967, followed by a show at a church, both on Chicago’s south side. He landed a show at a northside gallery the following year, where faculty and students at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago received him and his work with great enthusiasm. This excitement launched Yoakum into larger and larger cultural spheres that has continued for fifty+ years.

This program will consider Joseph Yoakum’s “Atlas,” beginning in Chicago, where he is still revered; his early impact on artists and presence in their collections; his impact on successive generations of artists, including artists working today; and new “windows” into his life and work. Intuit President and CEO Deb Kerr will moderate presentations by Yoakum enthusiast Cleo Wilson, Roger Brown Study Collection collection manager James Connolly, artist Tim Nickodemus and scholar Lisa Stone.

Two hours before the event, Intuit will email the Zoom link to those who RSVP on Eventbrite. Please check your junk folder; unfortunately, these emails are sent there sometimes.

RSVP on Eventbrite

Joseph Yoakum’s Atlas is a free program presented as part of Art Design Chicago Now, an initiative funded by the Terra Foundation for American Art that amplifies the voices of Chicago’s diverse creatives, past and present, and explores the essential role they play in shaping the now.

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