The RHS Facebook page is a rich archive of history-related posts by Carol Flynn, RHS Facebook admin and writer until mid-2025. Carol prolifically wrote a wide variety of meticulously researched local history articles for RHS. She continues to write for the Beverly Review and other media sources with articles particularly focused on local Ridge history.
Mildred Lyon Hetherington for Art Walk
The Beverly Art Walk – Final Countdown
We’re in the final countdown – it’s less than two days until the Beverly Art Walk, which will take place on Saturday, September 17, from 12 noon to 5:00 p.m.
At the Ridge Historical Society, the Hetherington Design Dynasty exhibit has been expanded to include a new section on Mildred Lyon Hetherington, the local artist who was very active in the Beverly/Morgan Park arts community from the 1920s through the 1970s.
Mildred married architect Murray Hamilton, and they lived in the beautiful home Murray designed at 8918 S. Hamilton Avenue. Unfortunately, they lost that home during the Great Depression. They moved in with her father at 10153 S. Prospect Street, converting some of the space into studios, and creating an outdoor area for entertainment.
Mildred’s portrait painting was the major source of family income during the Depression. By her own account, she painted or drew over one thousand portraits during her career.
Another major component of Mildred’s career was illustrating children’s books and craft projects. This brings in an important connection between art and education.
Illustrations in children’s books serve many purposes. They delight the eye, they stir the imagination, and they foster an appreciation for art. They are valuable education and child development tools. By visualizing events, children can better understand words and concepts and the world around them, helping them to develop analytical and interpretive skills. Children learn how to model their own behavior – helping others, sharing – more from examples, like illustrations, than from being told what to do.
Mildred Lyon Hetherington created illustrations for dozens of children’s storybooks and textbooks. She also developed posters for craft projects that were fun activities while educating about history and helping children develop their fine motor skills.
All this, and more, is covered in the RHS exhibit. Plus, for the Art Walk, performances by the Weber School of Irish Dance will take place every hour on the half hour on the driveway near the Seeley Avenue entrance. There will be beer tastings from Horse Thief Hollow on the veranda where visitors can experience the great view down to Longwood Drive.
The RHS grounds are entered at 10621 S. Seeley Avenue. Parking is available on the street.
The 2022 Beverly Art Walk
The Ridge Historical Society will be doing what we do best, something no one else will be doing, for the 2022 Beverly Art Walk – connecting the past with the present.
“The Ridge” has had an art community going back to its earliest days. Once the railroads started making the area accessible, artists came to seek inspiration from the natural beauty of the Ridge.
On August 23, 1884, the Inter Ocean newspaper, one of the Chicago newspapers of the day, published an article about Washington Heights, which included today’s Beverly, and Morgan Park. The article reported on the unique attractiveness and engaging panorama of the Ridge, the forest so dense that to get lost in it was an easy thing, the wild cherries, the twilight shadows, the deep ravines, the hooting owls ….
The Ridge woods were visited that day by “young Landeau,” an artist who was in mourning because he had recently lost his friend and mentor, landscape artist Henry Arthur Elkins. Landeau was quoted as saying, “These very woods gave Elkins his inspiration, I verily believe, and I happen to know he often visited them.”
Landeau took solace that he was experiencing the same “wild
scenes” that so inspired his friend.
Artists soon began moving to the Ridge. In the 1890s, John Vanderpoel and William French from the Art Institute of Chicago made their homes in North Beverly. Hundreds of artists have called the Ridge home during the last one hundred and thirty years.
One of these was Mildred Lyon, whose family moved to Beverly in 1914, the year she graduated from the Art Institute. Although Vanderpoel was gone by then from the Art Institute, Mildred’s instruction would have been strongly influenced by him and his famous book, The Human Figure, which guided countless students on how to draw features of the human body from foreheads to toes. Mildred certainly knew Matilda Vanderpoel, the younger sister of the artist, also an instructor at the Art Institute and resident of North Beverly.
Mildred married Murray Hetherington in 1924, joining the family known for designing some of the outstanding architecture that shaped Beverly/Morgan Park into the show place it remains to this day. Mildred became known in her own right for her portraits and illustrations of children’s books and craft projects.
Mildred Lyon Hetherington will be the focus of the exhibit that RHS will premier for the Beverly Art Walk on Saturday, September 17. This week, we will offer some glimpses into Mildred and the upcoming exhibit.
The Beverly Art Walk, brought to us by the Beverly Area Arts Alliance, concentrates on the present-day artists in the community. The Alliance founders, Sal Campbell and Monica Wilczak, are commended for revitalizing the arts on the Ridge. RHS concentrates on the history of the community and this exhibit provides a link from the past to the present.
The Ridge Historical Society will be open to the public today, Tuesday, from 1 to 4 p.m. Admission is free, and everyone is welcome. Enter at 10621 S. Seeley Avenue.
The current exhibit is Hetherington Design Dynasty, telling the story of three generations of the Hetherington family of architects, who designed over seventy buildings in the Beverly/Morgan Park community.
The exhibit is currently being expanded for the Beverly Art Walk. A new section is being added that will feature Mildred Lyon Hetherington.
Mildred joined the Hetherington family when she married Murray Duncan Hetherington in 1924. They had met when both were students at the School of the Art Institute. Murray became an architect and Mildred became a portraitist and illustrator of children’s textbooks, story books, and craft projects.
A nice sampling of Mildred’s portraits will be on display for the Art Walk, as well as some of the books and craft products she illustrated.
Beverly Art Walk – Bringing together the past and the present
The 2022 Beverly Art Walk will be held on Saturday, September 17. This year, the community’s cultural assets are being celebrated, and the Ridge Historical Society is happy to be featured.
The current exhibit, Hetherington Design Dynasty, looks at three generations of the Hetherington family who lived on the Ridge – John Todd, his son Murray, and Murray’s son John Murray.
For the Art Walk, a new section is being added to the exhibit, the artwork of Mildred Lyon Hetherington.
Mildred Lyon was born in New York in 1892. The family moved to Chicago, and Mildred attended the School of the Art Institute (SAIC), where she met Murray Hetherington, an architecture student. Mildred graduated from the SAIC in 1914, the same year her family moved to Beverly, where the Hetherington family also lived.
Mildred and Murray married in 1924. They had two children, John “Jack” Murray, and Mary.
Mildred had a long career as an artist. She was famous for her portraits and for illustrating children’s books. The RHS exhibit will feature selections of her works, some on loan from the Hetherington family.
Including a historic exhibit in the Art Walk ties together the past and the present of the arts community on the Ridge. In upcoming posts, we will look at Mildred’s place in this community, including her connection to John H. Vanderpoel and the Vanderpoel Art Association.
Portrait of Murray Hetherington by Mildred Lyon Hetherington, on loan for the Ridge Historical Society’s exhibit, Hetherington Design Dynasty, from the Vanderpoel Art Association.
The Ridge Historical Society will be open tomorrow, Sunday, from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m., free admission, for anyone and everyone to stop by. Enter through the driveway at 10621 S. Seeley Avenue. There is some limited parking right at the house or park on Seeley Avenue. The house is not wheelchair accessible.
The current exhibit is the Hetherington Design Dynasty, featuring the Hetherington family of architects, three generations who lived in Beverly and designed over seventy buildings in the neighborhood, including the Graver-Driscoll House, RHS Headquarters.
The patriarch of the family was John Todd Hetherington, born in Canada in 1858, and educated in Scotland. He came to Chicago and began his architecture career in the 1880s.
John Todd’s son Murray became an architect, also, and joined his father in practice. Together, they designed the Ridge Park field house at 96th Street and Longwood Drive.
Murray married Beverly artist Mildred Lyon in 1924, and they had a son, John Murray, who also became an architect. Mildred had a career as an illustrator and portrait painter.
Visit RHS to learn more about the Hetherington family.
And mark your calendar for the Beverly Art Walk on September 17th, when RHS will be a major attraction, showcasing the work of two artists. First, the work of Mildred Hetherington will be added to the Hetherington exhibit.
Second, the work of artist Monica Balc will be displayed. Stay tuned to this page for more news on this event.
As you drive down Western Avenue in Beverly/Morgan Park, look for the banners showcasing this year’s Beverly Art Walk, which will be held exactly one month from today on Saturday, September 17, 2022.
This year the Beverly Area Arts Alliance is partnering with local cultural institutions to bring awareness to these groups by displaying the artwork of local artists.
The Ridge Historical Society is honored to be a focus of the Beverly Art Walk this year with an exhibit of the work of artist Monica Balc.
Monica is featured on one of the banners. Look for it at 103rd Street and Western Avenue. There will be much more on Monica in upcoming posts.
RHS will also add a new feature to the current RHS exhibit on the Hetherington Design Dynasty. The Hetherington family included three generations of architects who lived in Beverly and designed over seventy buildings in the community.
Murray Hetherington married local artist Mildred Lyon, a prolific illustrator and portrait artist. Mildred’s work will be become a special part of the exhibit.
Stay tuned to this page for more information on the Beverly Art Walk event at RHS.
The countdown begins – 30 days to go.