Works of Artistic Activist on Display at Oakton

The following information was submitted by Oakton Community College.

Eyewitness: Works by Morris Topchevsky Comes to Oakton

View the work of Chicago artist and social crusader Morris Topchevsky (1899-1947) at an exhibition that runs August 2 – September 21, at Oakton’s Koehnline Museum of Art.

The collection is a true treasure trove – one that almost didn’t come to light. In 2001, Nathan Harpaz, curator of Oakton’s Koehnline Museum of Art, was visiting the Skokie residence of Topchevsky’s late brother Alex Topp, a painter. His widow invited Harpaz to explore Topp’s studio – untouched since he had passed away. Harpaz discovered a gold mine of sorts. High up near the ceiling, he found dozens of paintings by Topp’s brother, Morris. 

Topchevsky’s work provides striking examples of his artistic activism. As a young immigrant on the city’s Near West Side, Topchevsky became sensitized to the plight of the poor.

Inspired by social reformer Jane Addams, Topchevsky served as a resident art instructor at Addams’ Hull-House settlement and in later years at the Abraham Lincoln Center on Chicago’s South Side. Besides the disenfranchised, his work also featured idyllic images of Mexico’s and New Mexico’s indigenous culture and physical landscape.

Eyewitness: Works by Morris Topchevsky presents this politically radical artist’s diverse survey of work, illuminating his creative responses to varied geographic and sociopolitical environments during the first half of the 20th century. 

On opening night attend a public reception with refreshments from 5 – 8 p.m. 

The Koehnline Museum of Art, 1600 East Golf Road, Des Plaines, is currently operating under its summer hours and is open Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.