decade

1910s

1918

Charles White is born in Chicago.

1918

June Wayne is born in Chicago.

decade

1920s

1920

Anna Halprin is born Anna Schuman in Wilmette, Illinois.

decade

1930s

1920s–30s 1930

Throughout grade school and high school, Charles White wins scholarships to attend Saturday classes at the Art Institute of Chicago.

1932

Charles White joins the Arts and Crafts Guild in Chicago at age fourteen and begins participating in their exhibitions.

1936

Barbara Kasten is born in Chicago.

1936

Charles White wins a scholarship to attend the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC).

1938–41 1938

Charles White is an active participant in the South Side Community Art Center in Chicago, where he teaches classes and serves as chairman of the Artists’ Committee.

1939–43 1939

Charles White paints murals in Chicago and New York as part of the Works Progress Administration.

1939

Judy Chicago is born Judy Cohen in Chicago and lives there for 18 years.

1939

Karl Wirsum is born in Chicago.

1939

Larry Bell is born in Chicago.

decade

1940s

1940

Gladys Nilsson is born in Chicago.

1942

Carlos Almaraz’s family moves to Chicago.

1943

David Hammons is born in Springfield, Illinois.

1943

Senga Nengudi is born Sue Irons in Chicago.

mid-1940s 1947

Karl Wirsum attends Saturday classes at the Art Institute of Chicago as a child.

1940s 1948

Judy Chicago attends classes at the Art Institute of Chicago as a child.

decade

1950s

early 1950s 1951

Gladys Nilsson receives a scholarship to attend junior school classes at the Art Institute of Chicago.

1954–55 1954

Barbara Kasten attends the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

1954–58 1954

Gladys Nilsson attends Lake View High School in Chicago, where she minors in art.

1954

Stephen Prina is born in Galesburg, Illinois.

1950s 1955

Hal Fischer’s family moves to Highland Park, Illinois.

late 1950s 1956

Jim Nutt briefly attends college at the University of Kansas, then the University of Pennsylvania, then Washington University in St. Louis. He eventually settles on the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), where he meets his future wife, Gladys Nilsson.

1956–63 1956

John Outterbridge moves to Chicago and becomes very involved with various South Side arts organizations, including singing in a choir at St. Anselm Catholic Church.

1956/57

John Outterbridge attends the American Academy of Art in Chicago.

1957

Judy Chicago moves to Los Angeles to attend UCLA.

1957

Karl Wirsum is awarded a full ride to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC).

1958–62 1958

Gladys Nilsson and Jim Nutt meet at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), which they both attend.

decade

1960s

1960s 1962

Judy Chicago knows Billy Al Bengston from her days as a student at UCLA.

1962

Judy Chicago earns her BA from UCLA.

1962–64 1962

Billy Al Bengston teaches for a year at UCLA when Judy Chicago is in graduate school. Bengston’s studio is the first Chicago ever visits, and she considers him the first real artist she’s met.

1963

John Outterbridge and his new wife, Beverly McKissick, leave Chicago for Los Angeles’s warmer weather and bigger art scene.

1964

Judy Chicago receives her MFA in painting and sculpture from UCLA.

mid-1960s 1964

Judy Chicago enrolls in auto body school to learn airbrushing techniques. She begins to make works inspired by the car culture of California, much like the finish fetish school that includes Billy Al Bengston.

1965

Five recent SAIC graduates including Gladys Nilsson, Jim Nutt, and Karl Wirsum coin the term Hairy Who while working on a title for their group exhibition at the Hyde Park Art Center. The name is in reference to Chicago radio station WFMT’s art critic Harry Bouras.

1960s 1965

José Antonio Aguirre visits Chicago as a child during a summer vacation.

mid-1960s 1965

Judy Chicago moves into an apartment next to Joe Goode’s on Western Avenue.

mid-1960s 1965

Judy Chicago watches Billy Al Bengston race motorcycles and hangs out with the “Ferus gang” at Barney’s Beanery, although she acknowledges the machismo of the crew.

mid-1960s 1965

Judy Chicago participates in the La Cienega gallery walks on Mondays.

mid-1960s 1965

Judy Chicago shows at the Rolf Nelson Gallery on La Cienega Boulevard.

mid-1960s 1965

Rolf Nelson calls her Judy Chicago because of her thick Chicago accent.

1965

Robert Cumming and William Wegman drive from Boston to Illinois in Cumming’s 1965 VW bus to attend graduate school at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

1967

Robert Cumming earns his MFA from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

1967

William Wegman earns his MFA from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

1969

Gladys Nilsson, Jim Nutt, and Karl Wirsum are included in the group exhibition Don Baum Says: "Chicago Needs Famous Artists" at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago.

1969

Jorge Pardo’s family immigrates to Chicago.

1969

Judy Chicago has a solo exhibition at the Pasadena Museum of Art.

1960s 1969

Judy Chicago lives in Pasadena, California, around the corner from Bruce Nauman’s studio.

1969

Judy Chicago creates Fresno State College Atmosphere.

decade

1970s

1970

Jerry McMillan photographs Judy Chicago for her ad in Artforum announcing her name change.

1970

Jim Nutt is included in the group exhibition Three Famous Artists from Chicago at the Candy Store Gallery.

1970

Judy Chicago changes her last name from Gerowitz (married name) to Chicago.

1970

Judy Chicago has a solo exhibition at California State University, Fullerton, which is run by Dextra Frankel. Chicago has a name-changing ceremony as part of the exhibition.

1970

Judy Chicago takes out an ad in Artforum to announce her Fullerton exhibition and her name change. Jerry McMillan takes the photograph, which features Chicago in a boxing ring sporting a sweatshirt with her new name, her friend’s girlfriend standing behind her, and gallerist Jack Glenn crouching in the corner like a boxing manager.

1970

Judy Chicago creates Campus White Atmosphere for California State University, Fullerton.

1970

Judy Chicago founds the Feminist Art Project, a collaborative educational experiment, at Fresno State College (now California State University, Fresno) along with 15 aspiring women artists known as the California Girls.

1970

Larry Bell is included in the Art Institute of Chicago’s 69th American Exhibit.

1970

Miriam Schapiro meets Judy Chicago and invites her to cofound the Feminist Art Program at CalArts.

1971

Jessica Jackson Hutchins is born in Chicago.

1971

Judy Chicago creates Pink Atmosphere for California State University, Fullerton.

1971

Judy Chicago leaves Fresno and accepts a teaching position at the newly formed CalArts. She cofounds the Feminist Art Program at CalArts with Miriam Schapiro, and many of the Fresno students follow her there.

1971

Judy Chicago begins working on Womanhouse with Feminist Art Program participants.

1971

Karl Wirsum moves to the West to escape the Chicago Imagists’ newfound fame. During this time he teaches at Sacramento State College.

1971–72 1971

Miriam Schapiro participates in the historic Womanhouse installation with Judy Chicago and 21 other women artists, many of whom are students at the Feminist Art Program. For her contribution, Schapiro and her assistant create The Dollhouse using old liquor crates to create a six-room house featuring a parlor, a kitchen, a movie star’s bedroom, a harem room, a nursery, and an artist’s studio with a male model made of stuffed fabric and a miniature version of Sixteen Windows on an easel.

1971

Terry Allen has a solo exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago.

1972

Gladys Nilsson, Jim Nutt, and Karl Wirsum are included in the group exhibition Chicago Imagist Art at MCA Chicago.

1972

Judy Chicago is named a Tamarind Fellow.

1972

Judy Chicago and Miriam Schapiro host the first West Coast Women Artists’ Conference at CalArts.

1972

In January and February, Judy Chicago, Miriam Schapiro, and 21 other women artists, many from the Feminist Art Program, participate in Womanhouse, a collaborative art installation staged in an abandoned Hollywood mansion.

1972

Judy Chicago and Miriam Schapiro host the first West Coast Women Artists Conference at CalArts.

1973

Hal Fischer receives his BFA from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

1973

Judy Chicago experiences a hostile environment at CalArts. She bands together with Sheila Levrant de Bretteville and Arlene Raven to leave CalArts and create the Feminist Studio Workshop, an alternative art education experience for women.

1973

Judy Chicago, Sheila Levrant de Bretteville, and Arlene Raven cofound the Women’s Building, which opens on November 28. They first rent the former Chouinard Art Institute building, located at 743 Grandview Avenue.

1974

Jim Nutt has a solo exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago.

1974

The Oakland Museum of California commissions A Butterfly for Oakland, one of Judy Chicago’s Atmosphere works.

1974

Stephen Prina earns his associate’s degree from Carl Sandburg College in Galesburg, Illinois.

1975

Amanda Ross-Ho is born and raised in Chicago’s Edgewater neighborhood.

1976

Gladys Nilsson and Jim Nutt move back to Chicago.

1977

José Antonio Aguirre enrolls in the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago.

1977

Melanie Schiff is born in Chicago.

1977

Stephen Prina earns his BFA from Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois.

1978

After visiting the Art Institute of Chicago, José Antonio Aguirre changes his focus and enrolls in the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

1979

Judy Chicago debuts The Dinner Party in March at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) and travels to Chicago in December 1981.

decade

1980s

1970s–90s 1980

José Antonio Aguirre creates several murals in Chicago, Los Angeles, and elsewhere.

1981

Karl Wirsum has a solo exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago titled Hare Toddy Kong Tamari: Selected Objects by Karl Wirsum.

1982–84 1982

Jorge Pardo attends the University of Illinois at Chicago with a major in biology but switches to art after taking classes recreationally.

1982

José Antonio Aguirre earns his BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

1982

Judith Barry teaches a class about video and performance at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) and creates the video Space Invaders with SAIC students at the home of Laura Kipnis.

1984

Judithe Hernández moves to Chicago.

1985

José Antonio Aguirre creates the mural Nuestra Esencia, Nuestra Presencia … , RCOCC at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

1985

Judy Chicago’s Birth Project is exhibited at the Frederick S. Wight Gallery, UCLA.

decade

1990s

1991

Aaron Curry moves to Chicago.

1991

Rebecca Morris moves to Chicago and earns a Post-Baccalaureate Studio Certificate from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) in 1992.

1993

Kori Newkirk earns his BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC).

1995

Bruce Nauman has a solo exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago titled Bruce Nauman: Elliott’s Stones.

1996

Judy Chicago’s Birth Project is exhibited at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles.

1996

Ten in One Gallery in Chicago organizes Rebecca Morris’s first solo exhibition.

1998

Amanda Ross-Ho earns her BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC).

1999

Jessica Jackson Hutchins receives her MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

1999

Jim Nutt has a solo exhibition at MCA Chicago titled Jim Nutt: Portraits.

1999

Sterling Ruby moves to Chicago to attend the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), where he meets fellow student Aaron Curry.

decade

2000s

2000

Sterling Ruby and Melanie Schiff become friends while students in Chicago.

2000

Rodney McMillian earns his Post-Baccalaureate from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

2000s 2000

Sterling Ruby first learns how to work with ceramics in Chicago at a “free form” ceramics class.

2000s 2000

Sterling Ruby works at the Video Data Bank, an organization cofounded by SAIC. In Ruby’s words: “I wasn’t exposed to a lot of video art until I started my employment as a secretary at the Video Data Bank. Prior to Chicago, I studied at a four-year foundation program in Pennsylvania where I did figure and still life drawing for eight hours a day. Needless to say, there was no video art in the curriculum. After being promoted from the VDB front desk, I learned how to edit and wound up dubbing endurance-based performance art for eight hours a day. I was holding the [Vito] Acconci, [Lynda] Benglis, and [Bruce] Nauman master tapes and it was a nice opportunity to learn the history of video art in parallel to watching the history of performance art.”

2002

Melanie Schiff receives her MFA from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

2004

Larry Bell, Judy Chicago, Douglas Huebler, and Bruce Nauman are included in the group exhibition A Minimal Future? Art as Object 1958–1968 at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles.

2004

Sterling Ruby’s first solo exhibition, Interior Burnout, is at 1R Gallery in Chicago.

2007

Judy Chicago, Mary Kelly, Lynn Hershman Leeson, Sheila Levrant de Bretteville, Senga Nengudi, Miriam Schapiro, and June Wayne are included in the traveling exhibition WACK! Art and the Feminist Revolution organized by the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles.

decade

2010s

2011

Jim Nutt has a solo exhibition at MCA Chicago titled Jim Nutt: Coming Into Character. It is accompanied by Seeing Is a Kind of Thinking: A Jim Nutt Companion, which included works by Nutt, Aaron Curry, Mike Kelley, Bruce Nauman, Gladys Nilsson, and Karl Wirsum.

2011

Judithe Hernández has a solo exhibition of new work at the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago titled La Vida Sobre Papel. Hernández credits the president of the National Museum of Mexican Art with jumpstarting her artistic career again in Chicago.

2012

Aaron Curry and Sterling Ruby are included in the group exhibition Phantom Limb: Approaches to Painting Today at MCA Chicago.

2014

Judy Chicago has a solo exhibition at the Oakland Museum of California titled Judy Chicago: A Butterfly for Oakland.

2015

Aaron Curry, Gladys Nilsson, and Jim Nutt are included in the group exhibition Surrealism: The Conjured Life at MCA Chicago.

2017

Judy Chicago creates Be No More, a dry-ice installation, at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art as part of their new building’s opening celebrations.

2018

Jim Nutt, Gladys Nilsson, and Karl Wirsum are included in the group exhibition Hairy Who? 1966–1969 at the Art Institute of Chicago.

2018

Judy Chicago’s Birth Project: Born Again travels to the Pasadena Museum of California Art.

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