Sheldon Peck's 'Footsteps' exhibit extended in Lombard

The Lombard Historical Society exhibit "Sheldon Peck Footsteps of His Life" will be extended through Oct. 8 at the Sheldon Peck Homestead, 355 E. Parkside Ave., Lombard.

More than 1,000 people from 16 states already have visited the exhibit.

Special hours during September and October are 1-4 p.m. Tuesdays; 1-8 p.m. Thursdays; and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays. The suggested donation is $8; children, students and active duty military with a valid ID are free.

The exhibit includes 15 original Peck paintings from 1825 to 1848, displayed together in the Peck Homestead he built in Lombard in 1839. This is the first time since 1976 that Peck's works are exhibited together, and the exhibit features paintings on loan from private collectors and other museums.

Peck is now receiving recognition as a major figure in 19th-century art circles for his talent and innovative painting style. He was self-taught and painted from his early 20s.

"He was good from the very beginning. It's hard to miss the expertise Peck was showing. It was not learned. It was innate talent," said Sarah Richardt, executive director of the Lombard Historical Society.

Richard Miller, Peck expert and former curator at the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum in Williamsburg, Virginia, writes that Peck "represents the new model of a highly skilled, self-taught painter who helped democratize art by making it available to more Americans than ever before."

Donor museums that have loaned their Peck portraits include the Aurora Historical Society, the Elgin History Museum, Stacy's Tavern Museum-Glen Ellyn Historical Society, the St. Charles History Museum and the Illinois State Museum in Springfield.

The Lombard Historical Society celebrates the village's heritage by collecting, preserving and interpreting its history. It operates the Victorian Cottage Museum, the Carriage House and the society's archives at 23 W. Maple St. and the Sheldon Peck Homestead, a National Park Service Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Site, at 355 E. Parkside Ave.

Both the Victorian Cottage and Peck Homestead host activities and groups and are open for tours several days a week.

For details about membership or volunteer and donor opportunities, visit lombardhistory.org, email info@lombardhistory.org or call (630) 629-1885.