Local artist’s lifetime of work a legacy for Batavia’s Water Street Studios

When it was learned that an entire collection of works by the late artist and educator Edward Dlugopolski, a 40-year Batavia resident, 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 volunteers with Water Street Studios determined the nonprofit would be a good fit to care for the art from Ed’s home studio.

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

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

The event, Ed’s Studio: A Celebration of the life and work of Edward Dlugopolski, is Jan. 10-12, which an opening reception from 6-9 p.m. Jan. 10 at Water Street Studios' satellite location.

According to a news release from Water Street Studios, Ed and Joyce were long time patrons of the arts, including the Elgin Symphony and the Lyric Opera.

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 the Army in Korea, he got his degree at the University of Chicago. For 30 years he headed the art department at Glenbard West High School in Glen Ellyn.

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 Art in Your Eye collection. His artwork was not only featured on the annual poster, but both pieces adorned festival T-shirts and canvas bags. Organizers of Art in Your Eye continued to enjoy the friendship developed with Ed and Joyce, long after the Batavia festival ended a few years later.

He worked mainly in acrylic and charcoal. The art, mostly framed, range in size from 11 inches by 11 inches, to very large acrylic works, measuring as large as 60 inches by 41 inches.

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 Russian American painter and theater designer.

This satellite studio will be open Friday, Jan. 10 from noon – 9 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 11 and Sunday, Jan. 12 from noon – 4 p.m. at 139 First St., Batavia (just around the corner from Water Street Studios). The gallery reception will be on Friday, Jan. 10 from 6 – 9 p.m. Complimentary beverages and snacks will be served.

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