Chicago artist Tony Fitzpatrick dies at 66
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Tony Fitzpatrick's Scrub Jay was featured in his 2021 retrospective. (right). Photo by Ray Vegter. Collage courtesy of Tony Fitzpatrick.
Chicago lost one of its fiercest champions and boldest characters Saturday morning — artist, writer, and actor Tony Fitzpatrick died at 66.
The big picture: Brash and big-hearted, Fitzpatrick in many ways embodied Chicago — and the city will be less colorful without him.
- The dad, husband and unabashed animal lover died of a heart attack while awaiting a lung transplant at Rush Medical Center, according to family.
What he's saying: During a visit last week, Fitzpatrick decried the federal "invasion" of his city but felt overwhelmed by the support his friends, family, and hospital staff ("you gotta mention these incredible people").
- He urged his fellow Chicagoans to remember their goodness, and "to revere every bird, pet every dog and indulge in one of the millions of small kindnesses that hold our city together."
Catch up quick: Born in 1958 in the western suburbs, Fitzpatrick emerged from a troubled Catholic school upbringing and a string of working-class jobs with an explosion of impressive artistic debuts in several fields in the '80s.
- Over four decades he won fame in radio, poetry, prose, acting and especially fine art, with his intricate collages earning exhibitions at The Art Institute, Metropolitan Museum of Art, MCA and Museum of Modern Art.
- He created album covers for The Neville Brothers, Lou Reed and Steve Earle, a mural for the Steppenwolf Theatre and the memorable character of Birdbath in Amazon's 2015 "Patriot."
- In 2021, Fitzpatrick announced his final museum show, a retrospective at the Cleve Carney Museum of Art in Glen Ellyn. He said he wanted "to make room [in museums] for people who don't look like me."
- Recently, he highlighted lesser-known artists at his Dime Gallery in Wicker Park while hosting a Wednesday salon at Peanut Park in Little Italy.
The latest: This month, Fitzpatrick had been working on a Steppenwolf adaptation of his new book, "The Sun at the End of the Road: Dispatches from an American Life", in which he hoped to play himself.
- On Oct 4 he virtually attended the opening of his latest exhibition, "Songbirds and Crucifixions," at Great Lakes Tattoo in West Town.
The intrigue: The show features a suite of etchings called "The Night and the Blood. " He told Axios they were inspired by Joan Miró's 1938 "Black and Red Series," created in response to the rise of fascism in Spain.
- They're "informed by what surrounds us, [today]which is a nation losing its better self," Tony wrote about "The Night and the Blood."
- "We must now find our kindness. We must find our love for our City, Community, and, as difficult as it is, our Nation. The stubborn sense of the American promise will win out, and when it does, we must act on it..Bless our troubled and broken nation."
Monica's thought bubble: I met Tony in the late-80s when he briefly dated my sister — and got screamed at by my grandma for it. Still, he remained my steadfast pal — the kind who'd show up at a book signing and buy 10 on the spot. What?
- During our visit last week, Tony was short of breath but full of hope and plans. A one-time boxer, he joked, "If you see me out there fighting a bear, help the bear."
- But he also looked back on a "long and lucky life," noting "at this point, honey, I'm playin' with house money."
- I only wish that house money had held out a little longer.
Fitzpatrick is survived by his wife, Michele, and two adult children, Max and Gabrielle. No memorial plans have yet been announced.