(b.1940)

In 2020, Kohler Foundation received the Barbara Rossi collection from the artist which included the art of her contemporaries, that adorned the walls and surfaces of her home.

Rossi, one of the original Chicago Imagists, was born in Chicago, IL,  attended St. Xavier College, and had plans to become a nun. During her religious study, decided to pursue a career as an artist and attended the graduate program at School of the Art Institute of Chicago where she was profoundly influenced by her teachers, Ray Yoshida, and Whitney Halstead. In 1970, Don Baum invited Rossi to participate in the Marriage Chicago Style exhibition at Hyde Park Art Center alongside artists Roger Brown, Karl Wirsum, Ed Paschke, Philip Hanson, and Christine Ramberg (among others) and left the convent. 

Kohler Foundation has Rossi’s collection has been given to John Michael Arts Center where it will find a home at the Arts Preserve.

Rossi’s original art has been placed in permanent collections at the following institutions: National Gallery, Art Institute of Chicago, Museum of Fine Art Boston, Milwaukee Art Museum, Crystal Bridges, Columbia College, Whitney Museum of American Art, Museum of Modern Art, Plains Museum, Birmingham Museum of Art, Boise Art Museum, Denver Art Museum, DePaul University, and Metropolitan Museum of Art.