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The closing of the Ann Nathan Gallery in River North in late 2016 felt like the end of an era. Located on Superior Street, it and an earlier Objects Gallery, both owned by Ann Nathan, had for decades been foundational parts of Chicago’s art scene and the cultural life of the city. Nathan died May 5 at the age of 98.

She is remembered by artists, fellow gallery owners and others for having made an indelible mark on Chicago. In the mid-’70s, an enterprising real estate developer dubbed an industrial part of the city River North, and it grew into a hip arts-and-restaurant district. Within a decade, it hosted the largest concentration of art galleries outside of Manhattan.



Opening in 1986, Nathan’s Objects Gallery was one of the first along with Zolla/Lieberman, Roy Boyd and Carl Hammer. “Ann was a fixture in River North, and her gallery important all through the years,” says Natalie van Straaten, founder of the publication Chicago Gallery News. “A stellar figure to colleagues, collectors, and artists, Ann had a unique interest in three-dimensional and figural art.

” Moreover, Nathan sold things that people could actually afford, and she represented up-and-coming creatives who were not yet blue-chip artists. Her gallery was destroyed by a devastating 1989 fire. “If I were 10 years younger, I’d go west,” Nathan told Tribune critic Alan Artner at the time.

“But I am in the autumn of my life and cannot envision pioneering another neighborhood. I won’t leave th.

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