Oakton to display portraits by former Cook County inmate

Oakton Community College's Koehnline Museum of Art will display more than 40 works by a Cook County inmate from Thursday to June 22.

The public is invited to an opening night reception 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday, at the Des Plaines campus, 1600 E. Golf Road.

"This pioneering exhibit introduces an unknown Chicago artist," says Nathan Harpaz, museum manager and curator. "I hope that this public exposure will help unearth new data on this remarkable artist and his career."

The free exhibit, "Elmer Sanders: Rediscovery of a Chicago Outsider Artist," features images by produced in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

The collection includes human portraits shaped in black and white with a background design featuring a bold, multicolor scale.

Most contain the inscription "Inmate Cook County Jail, Block E, Tier 3, Arts and Craft Show" and were created with economical resources that include pencils, markers and crayons on paper or cardboard.