ILLINOIS HISTORICAL ART PROJECT
Art of Today Chicago 1933 by J. Z. Jacobson
When this book was published by L. M. Stein in 1932 it was groundbreaking for its treatment of modern art and coverage of those artists in Chicago who were then coming into favor with a conservative public.
The Century of Progress world's fair in many aspects paved the way for this book and subject matter. The twenty years between the International Exhibition of Modern Art (Armory Show) of 1913 and the world's fair saw a slow acceptance in Chicago of modern art. Ashcan and modern artist George Bellows came to teach at the Art Institute as a guest professor in 1919 as did Randall Davey. Their influence at the School of the Art Institute helped generate acceptance and enthusiasm.
By the early 1920s art juries were coming to include those younger artists who were painting in a more modern mode. The No-Jury Society of Artists and other more radical groups were formed including NeoArlimusc and Neoterics. Jacobson's book then was a sort of culmination of the coming of age of modern art in Chicago by local artists.