Zen Bench
The Zen Bench is constructed of granite and redwood in the style of traditional Japanese carpentry and the joints are clearly visible in a celebration of structure. The redwood base is notched and fitted, and the top is solid granite — two-thirds smooth and one-third rough-hewn. On the top surface of the bench, there is an indented area filled with polished stones in water, symbolizing tranquility.<br /><br />The bench was purchased and placed in the courtyard in 1999 as a memorial to Library staff member Steve Oserman. Steve began working in the Library as a shelver while in high school and continued during the summers while attending college and graduate school. Preferring library work to writing and teaching, he accepted a position as Reference Librarian. During the recession years of the 1980s, Steve and a colleague created an Employment Resource Center at the Library and he became widely known as the “job man,” was interviewed by local and national media, and spearheaded a national movement to encourage all libraries to develop services for those seeking employment. Later, with colleague Frances Roehm, Steve wrote the first book on Internet job searching. His death in 1998 prompted an outpouring of contributions to the Library, and it was decided to honor him with a lecture series and a piece of art. The Zen Bench was chosen because of Steve’s interest in Eastern thought and religion, and his love of the outdoors.<br /><br /><strong>The Zen Bench is not currently on display.</strong>
Unknown Artist
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A Jeweled Winter Forest
Abstract acrylic painting with white swirls and shapes of orange, blue, and yellow. Signed bottom right. Undated<br /><br />Barbara Aubin (1928-2014) was born in Chicago and studied Art Education at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Until her retirement in 1991, Aubin was a professor at Chicago State University. She received fellowships that enabled her to travel abroad, including a Fulbright Fellowship award in 1958. She has received many awards and her work has been exhibited internationally. In 2002, the Chicago Women’s Caucus for Art held a retrospective of Aubin’s work.<br /><br /><strong>This painting is near the First Floor elevators.</strong>
Collection of Skokie Public Library. Gift of Edward and Cecile Fellin, 1973.
Aubin, Barbara, 1928-2014
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Swans
Sculpture of a continuous curved piece of polished and burnished stainless steel with a double loop effect reminiscent of swimming swans. The piece was commissioned specifically for placement in the Water Court on the Library’s First Floor. Weighing approximately one thousand pounds, the sculpture was moved from the artist Elliott Balter’s studio to the Water Court by crane in 1979. The ceremony for the sculpture's dedication was held on Sunday, October 14, 1979.<br /><br />On plaque:<br /><blockquote>Elliott Balter<br />”Swans”<br />In honor of Hester King<br />In memory of Armond D. King<br />made possible by gifts of Armond D. King, Inc.<br />The King Family<br />First National Bank of Skokie<br />Skokie Federal Savings and Loan Association<br />and a grant from<br />Illinois Arts Council</blockquote>
Elliott Balter (1926-2006) studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Institute of Design at the Illinois Institute of Technology. He was one of the founders of the Skokie Sculpture Park and he taught art at Niles North High School in Skokie. In 1985, Balter opened his backyard Skokie Sculpture Garden to the public. His work has been exhibited at various locations around the United States and in Paris, Barcelona, and London.<br /><br /><strong>Located in the Water Court on the First Floor.</strong>
<hr />Read more about this sculpture on the library's <a href="https://skokielibrary.info/blog/416/library-art-swans/" target="_blank" title="Blog post on library website, "Library Art: Swans" by Perry Nelson dated December 26, 2026" rel="noreferrer noopener">blog</a>.
Balter, Elliott, 1926-2006
1979
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Fusion I
Abstract oil painting in yellow and orange. Signed bottom right.<br /><br />Modernist abstract painter Morris Barazani (1924-2015) moved to Chicago in the 1950s to join the Chicago Bauhaus movement at the Institute of Design where he worked with Laszlo Maholy Nagy. After founding the art department at DePaul University, Barazani became the director of the School of Art and Design at the University of Illinois’ Chicago Circle Campus, where he remained for 24 years.<br /><br /><b>Located on the east wall near the southeast corner of the Second Floor.</b>
Barazani, Morris, 1924-2015
1967
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Bookman's Bestiary
Signed facsimile print of a poem by Susan Barron in the form of an illuminated English alphabet. The poem interweaves animal names with parts of books, as in,
<blockquote>Cats glare at<br />Giraffes with their dust covered knees. Folios of<br />Elephants and gatherings of<br />Frogs distract us from the gutter with foxed, dog-eared<br />Dogs…</blockquote>
Includes drawings of a tiger, a zebra losing its stripes, an elephant, a giraffe, kangaroo, bluejay, and several books.<br /><br />Poem and illustration are copyrighted 1998. The piece was printed by The Stinehour Press, Lunenburg, Vermont and is signed below the artist’s name near the bottom of the piece. <br /><br />The print was a gift from Sid Block in 2003.<br /><br />Originally from the Chicago area, Susan Barron studied music and chemistry and worked for many years as a chemist in New York City. She has created several art books, most notably, the eleven-volume, <em>Labyrinth of Time</em>, which was premiered at the Newberry Library in Chicago. Barron’s drawings, collages, etchings, books, and photographs have been exhibited internationally and can be found in the permanent collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, The Newberry Library in Chicago, and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.<br /><br /><strong>This print is not currently on display.</strong>
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Barron, Susan, 1947-
1998
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Untitled #32
Drawing of amorphous tall shapes with arched tops with spiked projections. Within the shapes are circular, squiggle, bullet, and star shapes.<br /><br />On original plaque:
<blockquote>Joanne E. Baumann<br />Untitled<br />Gift of Joanne E. Baumann</blockquote>
<strong>This drawing is not currently on display.</strong>
Baumann, Joanne Elizabeth
1983
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Solitude
Painting of an amorphous head and body in ochre on the left edge on an off-white background. Signed bottom right "G. Bernstein".<br /><br />As a child, <a href="http://illinoiswomenartists.org/author/gerda-bernstein/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Gerda Meyer Bernstein</a> was a member of the Kindertransport, sent from Germany to England in 1938. Much of her work explores the difficult realities and suffering of victims of the Holocaust, but also “addresses healing, hope, and continuity.” She was one of the founders of ARC Gallery in Chicago and is represented by Fassbender Fine Art.<br /><br /><strong>This painting is not currently on display.</strong>
Meyer-Bernstein, Gerda, 1924-
1959
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Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer: The New Ellesmere Chaucer Facsimile
An authorized full-color, full-size facsimile of the Ellesmere Chaucer, a beautifully illustrated edition of Geoffrey Chaucer’s book, <em>The Canterbury Tales.<br /><br /></em>On original plaque:
<blockquote>The Canterbury Tales<br />by<br />Geoffrey Chaucer<br />The New Ellesmere Chaucer Facsimile<br />Gift of Yusuke Kihara<br />This is copy number 100</blockquote>
The original manuscript is in the collection of the Huntington Library of San Marino, CA, and includes 23 portraits of the storytellers, and 71 decorated pages. The facsimile was published in an edition of 250, was edited by Daniel Woodward and Martin Stevens, and printed by Yushodo Co, Ltd, in Tokyo, Japan.<br /><br />This copy was given to the library in 2001 by friend of the library, Yusuke Kihara.<br /><br /><strong>This item is not currently on display.</strong>
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Chaucer, Jeffrey, -1400
1995
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Kaddish II
Cast aluminum sculpture. Silver-colored and long, with a central pyramid and two irregular horizontal branches. Undated.<br /><br />Roger Colombik graduated from Niles North High School in 1979 and studied art at Southern Illinois University and was a student of Elliott Balter. He is a member of the Art & Design faculty at Texas State University. He works collaboratively on sculpture projects with his wife, Jerolyn Bahm Colombik, as well as on several large-scale photographic installations in Armenia, Romania, the Republic of Georgia that have addressed issues of emigration, education, and communal memory.<br /><br /><strong>This sculpture is not currently on display.</strong>
Colombik, Roger, 1964-
circa 1986
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Primitive woman
Cast steel and bronze sculpture of a woman with a shield and spear. <br /><br />On plaque:
<blockquote>Presented To<br />The Skokie Library<br />By Skokie Art Guild<br />Primitive Woman<br />Sculptor--E. Corley<br />1967<br /><br /></blockquote>
The sculpture was given to the Skokie Public Library as a gift from the Skokie Art Guild at a ceremony celebrating the opening of the Illinois Sesquicentennial Celebration in December 1967. The sculpture was purchased by the Skokie Art Guild after it had won both the "Best of Show" award at the Skokie Art Festival and the Lincolnwood Art Fair. According to the artist, the sculpture "expresses the 'struggle and hunger of life through the early ages.'" (<i>Life</i>, November 23, 1967, p. 10)<br /><br /><strong>This item is currently not on display.</strong>
Corley, Emmett B., 1927-1994
1967
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