A Fine Romance

Don Baum got his start at the University of Chicago and went on to become an artist, curator, and educator. He was one of the artists known as the "Monster Roster," a label that art critic Franz Schulze applied to figurative artists emerging in late 1950s Chicago. A Fine Romance comes from Baum’s "Domus" series, in which he combined wood, painted canvas board, and found materials to create sculptural houses, often with disjointed but picturesque imagery like the bouquet of roses and idyllic waterfront seen here. As exhibition director for the Hyde Park Art Center from 1956 to 1973, Baum worked closely with the Imagists to curate many landmark exhibitions, including those featured in the posters to your right. Schulze observed of Baum during that time, "[He] has no rival in locating and presenting the most provocative young talent in Chicago."