Karl Wirsum
Born 1939
Karl Wirsum (born 1939, Chicago) was raised on the South Side of Chicago and even as a child was drawn to rhythm and blues music and the Maxwell Street Market, an open-air flea market. Inspired by his visual and sonic experiences and memories, drawing poured out of Wirsum in much the same way as sound does from an improvising musician. And like improvised music, his direct drawings rarely show correction or revision. He often depicted musicians in his artwork and took inspiration from source material he scavenged at the flea market. Wirsum enrolled at the School of the Art Institute in 1957 and was the first of the Hairy Who artists to graduate. Wirsum studied with Kathleen Blackshear, an eccentric art historian who mentored Whitney Halstead, an instructor important to the development of the rest of the Hairy Who. It was through Wirsum’s friendship with Don Baum, the exhibition chairman of the Hyde Park Art Center, that he became part of the Hairy Who. Baum recommended that Wirsum be included in the small group exhibition that Jim Falconer and Jim Nutt proposed to him, and it was Wirsum who unintentionally coined the name Hairy Who. The six artists of the Hairy Who—Jim Falconer, Art Green, Gladys Nilsson, Jim Nutt, Suellen Rocca, and Karl Wirsum—decided that the best way to find success was to exhibit their work together, and as a group they began mounting unconventional displays of bright, bold graphic work in the mid-1960s. Over a period of four years they transformed the art landscape of Chicago, injecting their new and unique voices into the city’s rising national and international profile. At the time of the group’s first exhibition in 1966, Wirsum had already established a sophisticated, original style. His paintings largely featured central, frontally oriented, often nearly symmetrical figures delineated with strong outlines filled in with unmodulated hues. His iconic painting Screamin’ Jay Hawkins epitomizes this style. Wirsum’s arresting, outrageous, and supremely original artwork made him an inspiration to his fellow Hairy Who artists.
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ArtCollection.io is a cloud based solution that gives you access to your collection anywhere you have a secure internet connection. In addition to a beautiful web dashboard, we also provide users with a suite of mobile applications that allow for data synchronization and offline browsing. Feel confident in your ability to access your art collection anywhere around the world at anytime. Download ArtCollection.io today!

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Karl Wirsum
Born 1939
Karl Wirsum (born 1939, Chicago) was raised on the South Side of Chicago and even as a child was drawn to rhythm and blues music and the Maxwell Street Market, an open-air flea market. Inspired by his visual and sonic experiences and memories, drawing poured out of Wirsum in much the same way as sound does from an improvising musician. And like improvised music, his direct drawings rarely show correction or revision. He often depicted musicians in his artwork and took inspiration from source material he scavenged at the flea market. Wirsum enrolled at the School of the Art Institute in 1957 and was the first of the Hairy Who artists to graduate. Wirsum studied with Kathleen Blackshear, an eccentric art historian who mentored Whitney Halstead, an instructor important to the development of the rest of the Hairy Who. It was through Wirsum’s friendship with Don Baum, the exhibition chairman of the Hyde Park Art Center, that he became part of the Hairy Who. Baum recommended that Wirsum be included in the small group exhibition that Jim Falconer and Jim Nutt proposed to him, and it was Wirsum who unintentionally coined the name Hairy Who. The six artists of the Hairy Who—Jim Falconer, Art Green, Gladys Nilsson, Jim Nutt, Suellen Rocca, and Karl Wirsum—decided that the best way to find success was to exhibit their work together, and as a group they began mounting unconventional displays of bright, bold graphic work in the mid-1960s. Over a period of four years they transformed the art landscape of Chicago, injecting their new and unique voices into the city’s rising national and international profile. At the time of the group’s first exhibition in 1966, Wirsum had already established a sophisticated, original style. His paintings largely featured central, frontally oriented, often nearly symmetrical figures delineated with strong outlines filled in with unmodulated hues. His iconic painting Screamin’ Jay Hawkins epitomizes this style. Wirsum’s arresting, outrageous, and supremely original artwork made him an inspiration to his fellow Hairy Who artists.
Learn More
Sign up for a FREE account today!
Sign Up
Digitizing your art collection allows you to access it anywhere around the world.
A computer, tablet, and phone showing the native ArtCollection.io applications.

Available on any device, mac, pc & more

ArtCollection.io is a cloud based solution that gives you access to your collection anywhere you have a secure internet connection. In addition to a beautiful web dashboard, we also provide users with a suite of mobile applications that allow for data synchronization and offline browsing. Feel confident in your ability to access your art collection anywhere around the world at anytime. Download ArtCollection.io today!

App Store button to download iOS application.
Google Play Button to download Android application.