Picturing the Prairie

May 1 - September 12, 2021

Chicago Botanic Garden

Glencoe, Illinois

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Philip Juras’s exhibit of landscape paintings celebrates the rich aesthetics, ecology, and history of Illinois prairies. Over a five-year period, guided by some of the foremost prairie conservationists in Illinois and by his own research, Juras traveled from his home in Athens, Georgia, to the Chicago area and beyond to discover—and rediscover—a vision of an ecosystem that has virtually vanished in North America. More than a dozen larger sized studio canvases and many smaller field paintings depicting remnants, restorations, and imagined re-creations take the viewer on a journey of prairie landscapes from the Wisconsin border to the southern end of the state. This body of work continues Juras’s exploration of natural landscapes, especially historical grassland ecosystems.

Painting of Foley Sand Prairie

Artist’s Statement

Since 2013, with paint brush and camera in hand, I’ve had the pleasure of exploring tallgrass prairie remnants and restorations across Illinois. Beginning with preserves in the Chicago area, I’ve made over a dozen trips from my home in Athens, Georgia, to explore the state’s prairie ecosystems – native grasslands being one of my favorite subjects. I’ve found it both challenging and rewarding to find the far-flung preserves that hold most of the .01% remaining of Illinois’ original prairie. I’ve learned a tremendous amount about the Prairie State and have become very fond of its landscapes and the people I’ve met along the way. I’ve also found that Illinois, the state my mother grew up in, is a surprisingly wonderful destination for nature as well as culture.

Visiting and painting prairies from the Wisconsin border to the southern end of the state has been a truly fulfilling experience, as has revisiting them in the studio on larger canvases. I have explored many types of prairies, from wet black-soil prairies to dry hill prairies, and correspondingly, many variations in topography, species composition, and enclosure by trees.

This exhibit assembles the most compelling scenes from my explorations, moments where I was awed by the natural beauty before me and fascinated by the ecology and history of the place. The paintings are loosely arranged around the themes that have most captivated me: flora, wide-open skies, seasons, agents of biodiversity, wetlands, presettlement history, and woodlands.

Throughout this project I’ve been guided by several remarkable prairie conservationists. I am grateful to them and those who came before them for all they’ve done to bring this important grassland ecosystem back to life, not only making it possible for me to picture the prairie, but also ensuring that all of us can reconnect with this uniquely beautiful ecosystem. These paintings celebrate their efforts while inviting all who enjoy nature’s beauty to join in, to set foot in a nearby preserve where the state, county, or a non-profit has restored the prairie. I think visitors to these places will find, as I have, that the glorious diversity of plants and animals that make up one of the most storied ecosystems in North America is worthy of our attention.

Presented through a partnership of the Chicago Botanic Garden, The Field Musuem, The Forest Preserves of Cook County, The Nature Conservancy, and Openlands.

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Related Events:

May 8, Grigsby Prairie Walk, by invitation, Barrington, IL.
May 27, 7 to 8pm ET, virtual event: Book Launch Party: Philip Juras for Picturing the Prairie, in Conversation with Wendy Paulson, Avid Bookshop, Athens, GA.
June 22, noon CT, virtual event: Prairie Landscapes Rediscovered, Keller Science Action Center at the Field Museum, Chicago, IL.
June 24, virtual event, by invitation, Openlands, Chicago, IL.
August 5, gallery tour for CBG Art Camp, Chicago Botanic Garden, Glencoe, IL.
August 10, virtual event, by invitation, for Plein Air Painters Chicago. Recording on YouTube.
August 25, reception, by invitation, Chicago Botanic Garden, Glencoe, IL.
August 26, gallery tour for Lake Forest Open Lands, by invitation, Chicago Botanic Garden, Glencoe, IL.
September 12, Burnham Wildlife Corridor Walk with the Keller Science Action Center at the Field Museum, Chicago, IL.
September 22, private event, Nachusa Grasslands, IL.
September 26, Artist’s presentation for Grand Prairie Friends, Champaign, IL.

Media:

“Painting Prairies of Illinois: An Interview with Philip Juras”, Minding Nature: Spring 2020.
“Chicago Region – Paintings of Prairie Environments By Philip Juras”, prepared by the Field Museum, 2020.
“Picturing the Prairie: A Vision of Restoration”, A Prairie Calling: Issue 5 – May 2021.
“Philip Juras Exhibition”, An 8 minute video with captions, prepared by the Chicago Botanic Garden, 2021 (Vimeo).
“Illinois Is a Natural Beauty in New Exhibit ‘Picturing the Prairie’”, by Patty Wetli, WTTW PBS, June 5, 2021.
“Prairie Landscapes Rediscovered”, recording of artist’s presentation and panel discussion via Zoom, Field Museum, June 23, 2021.
“Prairies, and the people who shape them”, by Chistos Economou, Blog: Strategies for Stewards: from woods to prairies, June 28, 2021.
“Picturing the Prairie: A Conversation with Philip Juras and Jerry Adelmann”, 32 minute video (gallery tour) prepared by Openlands, released June 2021 (Vimeo).
“Picturing the Prairie”, by April Anderson, Quintessential Barrington, July 2021. (print only)

Buy the exhibit book: Picturing the Prairie: A Vision of Restoration

Related Events:

Media:

Works in the Exhibition (organized by size):