Third Friday Presents: James Bolivar Needham: Filling in the Picture
Last January, Chicago Maritime Museum curator Madeline Crispell explored highlights from the museum's recent acquisitions, including five paintings from the Philip R. May collection suspected to be the work of Black Chicago impressionist James Bolivar Needham. This summer, the paintings were confirmed to be Needham's and reinstalled to celebrate their attribution.
One year later, Madeline Crispell looked at the many archival discoveries that have helped fill some of the gaps in our understanding of James Bolivar Needham's life and work. We followed the process that lead to the paintings' attribution and discover more about the history of this extraordinary Chicago artist, learned about his parents' journey on the Underground Railroad, the reception his work received in late-nineteenth-century Chicago, and heard an excerpt of a letter where Needham describes his artistic philosophy in his own words.
This Third Friday was particularly special because Poems While You Wait made a special appearance! Poems While You Wait is a "collective of poets and their vintage typewriters" who you may have seen at other Chicago cultural institutions writing poems by request. Visitors requested a poem on their topic of choice for a donation and carried home a poetic souvenir of their night at the Chicago Maritime Museum.