How John W. ‘Bet-a-Million’ Gates’ hidden art treasures shaped St. Charles

You have to know your art history if the painting “Peace and Plenty” or the sculpture “The Lion Quarry” mean anything to you. More accurately, it would mean you know your St. Charles history at a master’s degree level.

However, you don’t have to be an expert on those topics to understand that author Archie Bentz Jr. has been fascinated with both art and the city — as it relates to John “Bet-a-Million” Gates and his vast art collection.

And he has had his researcher hat on again, following up on his thorough 2025 history book about Gates, in authoring “Rediscovering the Art Collection of John W. Gates,” a supplement to his book that examines what became of the local steel and oil tycoon’s art pieces.

It’s an interesting and important piece of the St. Charles history puzzle, as the Gates’ family tree used the inheritance of his wealth wisely since the early 1900s to strengthen the city’s education, health and entertainment sectors.

As Bentz noted in “Bet-a-Million Gates … The Man History Forgot,” and again during his efforts earlier this year to have a bust of Gates erected at the St. Charles History Museum, Dellora A. Norris was the main beneficiary of Bet-a-Million’s fortune.

She inherited more than $38 million, plus some properties, with a share going to Col. Edward Baker, as the only living descendants. That, in part, explains why, over time, bronze statues of Dellora Norris and Col. Baker were added to downtown St. Charles.

Prior to his passing in 1911, Gates had accumulated an impressive array of artwork, sculptures and furnishings in his various homes. It all was going to end up someplace and, as Bentz discovered, it became difficult to keep track of what ended up where.

In his supplement released last week, Bentz calls the art “a collection hidden in plain sight for more than a century.” And a significant portion of it has been in St. Charles all along.

“When I started this project, both John Collins (grandson of Lester and Dellora Norris) and I were coming to the realization that the people of St. Charles have been walking past an art collection of the masters from the 16th century on,” Bentz said. “They were not understanding the true artistic treasure — that the people of St. Charles had been the beneficiaries of the Gates art collection.”

That art had been on display in many public venues and some family homes in St. Charles for more than a century, Bentz added.

Collins contacted me last year to say he had taken some pieces of artwork and furniture in his basement that had been in his grandparents’ home to the St. Charles History Museum, knowing it might have some connection to John Wayne Gates and his collection. That sparked Bentz to begin work on his supplement.

Bentz said that Collins’ discovery confirmed the art was not lost and it had been around the community for generations.

“However, its artistic significance and the Gates provenance had largely been forgotten,” he added.

Much of the mystery behind the art collection stems from how, over time, Gates’ art collection was spread through his many homes from Chicago to New London, Connecticut, a hunting lodge in Colorado and possibly another in Florida, as well as his plaza hotel in New York City and a mansion in Port Arthur, Texas.

But St. Charles, where the Gates’ family tree was firmly planted, has had much of it on display. Bentz writes that Hotel Baker was home to Angelo Asti’s “Study of Young Woman with Long Tresses,” Benjamin Vautier’s “The Artist’s Model,” and Rudolf Epp’s “Peace and Plenty.”

The St. Charles Municipal Building displayed Charles Olivier de Penne’s “Hunting Scene: Stag and Hounds,” measuring approximately 66 inches by 90 inches, along with Arthur Waagen’s large bronze “The Lion Quarry.”

The State Bank of St. Charles displayed one of the most important paintings associated with the collection, Jan Steen’s “Boors Merrymaking,” Bentz writes. Additional paintings decorated Dellora Norris’ office in the Arcada Building, while others were in individual family residences.

“The Gates Art Collection survived,” Bentz writes, “not because it remained together, but because each generation knowingly preserved a part of its story.”

He noted there has never been a complete inventory of the artwork, which piqued his curiosity in knowing pieces were spread throughout the country and around the world.

Bentz explains what motivated him and what did not in terms of writing about the artwork.

“It has never been my intention to place a monetary value on works remaining in the hands of family members,” he writes. “The purpose of this research is something quite different: to gain some understanding of the scope and character of the collection amassed by John W. and Dellora Baker Gates, and in doing so, to preserve another important part of their legacy — one that extends far beyond the monetary value of their estate.”

While Bentz’s research in the 168-page supplement charts where the art had been found, it is not surprising to learn that by 1968, the Lester and Dellora Norris residence at 818 N. Fifth Ave. in St. Charles had the most pieces that were recorded in an appraisal.

For those who love a great mystery, Bentz’s supplement to his previous Gates work delivers an incredible journey backed with historic documents and photos of the art.

It’s a must-see for art history lovers, but also for those curious about why St. Charles stands out for its public art.

Due to its size, Bentz recommends viewing the supplement without a download on his website at tri-citygas.godaddysites.com under the heading Gates Art Collection.

In need of an idea

At first blush, some of the ideas being floated for development in and around the former St. Charles Police station along the Fox River don’t generate a lot of excitement.

But that’s just me.

Currently, city planners are mulling over proposals for the site, one being an ice-skating path during the winter and a walking path during warmer months. Another, with some potential, is small shops paired with a farmers market, a band shell or a covered open-air market.

Anyone walking through this area on the city’s Freedom Walk, just north of Main Street and in the shadow of the city’s Municipal Building, knows that a lot of repair work has to unfold on the river wall and pathway as well.

The station has been vacant since 2019, which makes you believe that if any developer had a great idea, it would have taken hold by now.

Taking that into account, hear me out. This is a joint city-and-parks idea that gives us some time for a developer to come along, because the former station would be in use and drawing some interest.

A site that would be somewhat of a visitor’s center for various clubs or organizations to schedule meetings or events to promote themselves might work as an interim plan.

Food could be brought in for certain events, but otherwise it would simply have a public restroom and vending machines (like a highway rest stop).

Possibly, the River Corridor Foundation’s idea for a floating garden, or EcoPark, could be nearby and tie in with something going on at a revamped police station.

Encouraging more people to visit the nearby Freedom Shrine, which showcases the most important documents in American history, would also be a plus.

It gives the police station site some exposure — and maybe someone from somewhere would make a pitch to convert it to something everyone would like.

Looking good

My friends from high school had one thing working for them when I walked into my 55th high school reunion event last weekend in Naperville.

I am about two weeks away from cataracts surgery, so things around me remain a bit fuzzy. That means everyone at Naperville Central’s Class of 1971 Reunion was looking quite good through this old fellow’s eyes.

Kidding aside, we all know that when you start tapping into reunions beyond the 50th, looking good is a significant accomplishment.

As they say, and I think in this case “they” would be anyone who has been to a reunion in the latter stages of life, moving around and looking good surely beats the alternative.

Dave Heun is a freelance columnist based in Geneva. He can be reached at dheun@sbcglobal.net.