The Bess Bower Dunn Museum in Lake County, IL, is expanding and improving. They’re adding 3,000 square feet of new space to showcase incredible comic book art. This expansion will allow them to show large paintings and temporary exhibitions.
Of course, the star here is Alex Ross, the fabled comic book artist. They say his stuff looks like what Norman Rockwell would do with superheroes! Ross has illustrated many Marvel and DC heroes. His work was at the Dunn Museum before, but now it’s coming back in a big way.
The new space will have over 100 pieces of Ross’s art. There will be three giant murals that are as tall as a person. Ross is even making two new paintings just for this exhibit. Visitors can stand next to these life-size heroes and feel like they’re part of the comic book world.
Why is the museum growing? It’s because Ross wanted to show his art there. He could have picked the Smithsonian, but he chose the Dunn Museum instead. That’s a big deal!
The new gallery will cost $163,000 to build. The museum hopes to get some money from a state grant to help pay for it. They’re using funds they already had set aside from when the museum moved a few years ago.
The larger gallery isn’t just there for Alex Ross’s art. It will allow the museum to book other major traveling exhibitions in the future. They also can display more of their own collections and unlock new exhibits more quickly.
The museum belongs to the Lake County Forest Preserve District. This new gallery will expose more people to the forest preserves while they’re enjoying the art.” It will charge an additional fee to visit the special exhibits. The money will be used to support the forest preserves.
The new space will be starting to work right away. The museum staff is thrilled to make space for these large, brightly colored paintings of superheroes. It’s an opportunity for comic book fans and lovers of art to catch something really unique.
