19" x 26" full color poster designed by Chris Ware depicting the home of the Oak Park River Forest Museum/Historical Society.

Oak Park resident Chris Ware, a noted artist and cartoonist, has created two original works of art to benefit The Historical Society of Oak Park and River Forest.

Ware, who created the graphic novel Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth and cover art for The New Yorker, has created separate but interconnected posters featuring a Prairie-style home located in each of the villages of Oak Park and River Forest.

According to Chris, "The 'concept' of the posters was to use the size and shape of the shared "O" in each logo as a sort of portal to another time around an architectural landmark specific to each town--a nod to my cartoonist friend Richard McGuire, who's been working on a book along these lines long before that "Dear Photograph" site ever came into being. “I hope you think this somehow slightly reflects the spirit and mission of a Historical Society -- which is, I think, to help people see things both as they are and as they were, since that's of course what allows people to empathize with others and (hopefully) what gives life meaning.”

Here’s more about the artist’s vision for the posters: “If it's not immediately clear, there are some non-explicit historical details in the images, like Purcell and Elmslie in front of Purcell's house in River Forest, Ernest Hemingway catching a football as a 'tween in front of John Farson's car, someone reading "For Whom the Bell Tolls," Frank Lloyd Wright on the second floor porch of the Heurtley [house] in the 1940s, Philander Barclay, Bowman's Dairy as well as other historic people and events.”

Chris Ware has just published a new book Building Stories, which is available at area bookstores. It features the life stories of the inhabitants of a building.

The Historical Society of Oak Park and River Forest is proud to offer you the opportunity to own this unique artwork by Chris Ware, renowned graphic novelist and one of Oak Park's own.

Click here for more information on Chris Ware and to find the key made for his art posters.