Benefit art show to unveil legacy of late Ed Dlugopolski, Glenbard West educator in Glen Ellyn

When it was learned that an entire collection of works by late artist and longtime Glenbard West High School educator Edward Dlugopolski needed to find a new home, volunteers with Water Street Studios, a community art center in Batavia, stepped up to assist with the task.

Joyce McFarland Dlugopolski, Ed’s wife, and Water Street volunteers determined the nonprofit would be a good fit to care for the art from Ed’s home studio.

The entire donated collection of Dlugopolski’s work will be shown and sold beginning in January, with proceeds to benefit Water Street Studios, whose mission is to make art accessible.

Joyce donated the beautiful acrylic and charcoal works of art, which have been carefully cataloged and priced by friends of the late artist, according to a news release.

The event – Ed’s Studio: A Celebration of the Life and Work of Edward Dlugopolski – will take place Jan. 10 to 12, with an opening reception from 6 to 9 p.m. Jan. 10 at a satellite location of Water Street Studios.

Ed and Joyce, a former music educator among her roles, have been longtime patrons of the arts, helping many organizations including the Elgin Symphony Orchestra and the Lyric Opera. The couple met while teaching in School District 45 in Villa Park.

Dlugopolski grew up the son of Polish immigrants in Chicago. He won a scholarship to study at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. After serving in the Army in Korea, he received his degree at the University of Chicago and a graduate degree at Northern Illinois University. For decades, he headed the art department at Glenbard West High School in Glen Ellyn, retiring in 1987.

In 2007, Ed was selected to be the poster artist for Batavia’s Art In Your Eye festival. It was then that organizers visited his studio and saw firsthand his vast collection of art, most of it his own, but also the work of artist friends. They were so intrigued by his many self-portraits that a second piece of art was selected for purchase for the festival’s collection.

He worked mainly in acrylic and charcoal. The artworks, mostly framed, range in size from 11 by 11 inches all the way to acrylic works as large as 41 by 60 inches. Nearly 300 pieces will be for sale.

Besides the self-portraits, there are colorful abstracts, portraits and a vast collection of life drawings. Of special interest is his homage to his Art Institute teacher and mentor, Boris Anisfeld, a famed Russian American painter and theater designer.

“Ed was a terrific artist, was mentored by Boris Anisfeld … but never promoted himself, instead working on teaching and producing art,” Water Street board member Bill McGrath said in an email. “At his wife’s direction, the art has been priced to get into people’s hands, and thus runs from $5 to $5,000.”

The satellite space where the art show will be held will be open from noon to 9 p.m. Friday, Jan. 10, and noon to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 11 and 12, at 139 First St., Batavia, around the corner from Water Street Studios (its main gallery will be closed in January for scheduled maintenance). Complimentary beverages and snacks will be served at the reception from 6 to 9 p.m. Jan. 10.

All sales are final. For more information about the artist, visit www.waterstreetstudios.org/eds-studio.

To read a 2012 Shaw Local article on the remarkable man, go to tinyurl.com/4kkw5j6k.