Photos of Brushwood Farm on exhibit in Riverwoods
A new exhibit at Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods, 21850 Riverwoods Road, Riverwoods, captures the history of the place in the works of two photographers with personal ties to the site, one an amateur and one a professional.
Brushwood Center Executive Director Sophie Twichell asked nationally renowned photographer Edward Ranney, known for his artistry depicting the remains of ancient Peruvian cultures, to show his works at Brushwood. Ranney's books include "Monuments of the Incas," "Prairie Passage" (about the Illinois and Michigan Canal), and "The Lines" (about the Nazca Lines, ancient geoglyphs located in the Nazca Desert in southern Peru).
Ranney had another idea: Why not create an exhibit showing his grandfather's and his own photos of the family's times spent at the property?
The result was an exhibit titled "Views from Brushwood Farm: The Photographs of Edward L. Ryerson & Edward Ranney, 1937-1974."
Ranney had spent many happy days during his youth at his grandparents' summer home called Brushwood, at what is now Ryerson Woods. The property was owned by Edward L. Ryerson, who donated much of it to the Lake County Forest Preserves.
Ryerson was chairman of the Inland Steel Company and an accomplished amateur photographer. His photos show how his family and friends used and enjoyed Brushwood (now Ryerson Woods). Ryerson took black-and-white photographs of family gatherings inside the house and nearby outdoors. Ryerson's pictures in the exhibit are reprinted from the extensive photographic archive he compiled between 1937 and 1971.
Ranney, meanwhile, took pictures of the woods and of the house as it was furnished by the Ryersons to record how they looked before the transfer to the Lake County Forest Preserve District.
The majority of photographs in the exhibit are presented in black and white, augmented by color pictures made by Ryerson after the late 1950s.
The exhibit is open through Oct. 30 and admission is free. Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday to Thursday and 1 to 3 p.m. Sundays or by appointment. Information is at brushwoodcenter.org.