September 27, 2023
Media Advisory: SIU’s Morris Library to dedicate artist Herbert Fink lithograph of late state Sen. John Gilbert
CARBONDALE, Ill. — A lithograph by renowned artist Herbert Fink of Carbondale attorney and former Illinois state Sen. John Gilbert will be unveiled and presented to Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s Morris Library at 11 a.m. Friday, Sept. 29, in the library’s browsing room on the south side of the building.
The portrait of Gilbert, who worked with former SIU President Delyte W. Morris in helping transform SIU from a small teachers college to a major university and who was fondly known as the “education senator,” is being given by members of Gilbert’s family to the university. Reporters, photographers and news crews are invited to cover the ceremony.
Gilbert’s son, J. Phil Gilbert, chair of the SIU Board of Trustees, other members of John Gilbert’s family including his daughter, Pam, along with university officials, will also be present for the unveiling. Others attending include Glenn Poshard, SIU System president emeritus and former U.S. House representative; SIU System President Dan Mahony, SIU Carbondale Chancellor Austin Lane, and John Jackson, a visiting professor with the SIU Paul Simon Public Policy Institute.
Phil Gilbert, a senior judge with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, said Fink, surprised him with the portrait of his father a few months after John Gilbert’s death in 1989. Fink and his wife, Polly, were good friends with the Gilberts, and Judge Gilbert recalls Fink saying the lithograph — from a picture of Gilbert’s father — was for the kindness that John Gilbert had shown them throughout the years “and for all he has done for SIU, I felt I needed to do this.”
Fink came to SIU in 1961 and later became director of the then-School of Fine Art and dean of the then-College of Communications and Fine Art until his retirement in 1987. Fink died in 2006. His creations are included in major collections in the U.S., including the Library of Congress, the New York Public Library, the Art Institute of Chicago and more.
John Gilbert was a state senator from 1960 to 1972. In addition to his work with President Morris on SIU Carbondale, Gilbert was also instrumental in the creation of SIU Edwardsville and the SIU School of Medicine in Springfield. He helped establish and then served on the Illinois Board of Higher Education.
“This portrait needs to go back home,” Phil Gilbert said. “It needs to be at the university that my father loved and dedicated his life to building.”
If you are interested in covering the event, contact Kim Rendfeld, director of communications, at kim.rendfeld@siu.edu or 765-426-3650 (cell).