July 2006 Page 14

> MAYOR DALEY and art!
In reading an interesting 1971 book, BOSS: RICHARD J. DALEY OF CHICAGO, by the esteemed journalist Mike Royko I unexpectedly came across some art references to hizzoner. Having lived in Evanston and mostly Chicago (Southtown) between the years 1956-1968, that city and Boss Daley are not foreign; my eldest daughter was born there, the only one of my four children not born in California. Looking back, Chicago was and remains a great "art town"... when the cor-ten steel by Picasso was installed on the Loop plaza I once spent a full day taking one b/w photograph of that sculpture at the top of each hour from the same exact spot (with my used Leica), which became a homey scrapbook wedding gift for Art Institute buddy, the painter Jack Stone (now in Oakland, CA.) The 24 images showed the passage of light across the piece... which is still one of the more remarkable public artifacts.

Turns out that up until the late 1960s, it was Mayor Daley's habit to begin each day by being let off at the Chicago Art Institute for his morning exercise walk to City Hall, 1 1/2 miles west. That museum is the first serious art museum I ever entered in my life, and I went back a bunch of times... mainly to see the Ivan Albright and Seurat paintings, and their Wedgewood collection.

Anyway, I found the following passage from Royko's book informative (describing Mayor Daley's office at City Hall):
"The business like appearance carries through the office. The only color is provided by the flags of the United States and the city of Chicago, and a color photograph of his family. When a prominent cultural leader offered to donate some paintings for the office, an aide said, 'Please, no, he can't accept them. People would think he's going high-hat.' "