Art

WBEZ -   When you think about presidential libraries, you probably don’t picture fine art. Among the 13 institutions in the United States dedicated to a more recent slate of presidents, only one features a notable commission: an expansive mural created in 1960-61 by regionalist Thomas Hart Benton for the lobby of the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum in Independence, Missouri.

Chicago will be the exception, keeping with President Barack Obama’s vision for a center that veers far from the conventional approach to presidential libraries. Obama and his wife, Michelle, envisioned art as being a fundamental part of the $800 million Obama Presidential Center when it opens on Juneteenth after 10 years of planning and construction.