‘Each piece in the exhibit does have a story’

What do angels, saints, boat captains and cityscapes have in common?

Why the Illinois and Michigan Canal, of course.

All of the above are featured in a new exhibit at the Gaylord Building in Lockport called, “Life Along the Canal: The Art of John M. Lamb,” which premieres the folk art of Lamb, a local historian.

“John Lamb has been involved in so much preservation and history-related activities that those of us of who had seen his folk art that it would an interesting thing to be able to highlight just another side of an interesting person,” Pam Owen, executive director of the Gaylord Building, said.

The exhibit was the result of the collaboration between the Gaylord Building Historic Site and the Lewis University Adelmann Regional History Center, according to a news release from the Gaylord Building.

Lamb is also a former professor emeritus at Lewis University, founder of the Adelmann Regional History Collection and has been linked to the I&M Canal for more than 60 years, the release also said.

“He was definitely one of the first who recognized, even in the 1960s, that Lockport was really becoming disconnected from its past and that its past had a lot of significance,” Owen said. “He just didn’t want that significance of the canal town to be lost for future generations.”

Lamb also donated his bird houses or small sculptures to local fundraisers over the years, Owen said. He also created sculptures from the beams that were part of the Gaylord Building before its remodeling, she said.

So why not bring back pieces of wood now crafted into artwork “by someone so integral in saving those historical places of Lockport?” Owen said.

Lamb’s family, Lewis University and private collectors all lent pieces for the exhibit, she said.

“We really acquired as many pieces as possible,” Owen said.

According to the news release, the Lewis University Office of Marketing and Communications helped with the design and layout of the exhibit’s graphic elements. Lockport architect, Robert Morris, helped with the fabrication of the artwork installation mounts. And education graduate student and history center intern Gretchen Jelinek worked closely with the Owens and the history center’s director Dennis Cremin to create the exhibit’s text panels.

Virtual presentations are being planned. And The Gaylord Building on Facebook will give details about the pieces, one at a time.

“The exhibit really just shows the artwork,” Owen said. “But each individual piece does have a story.”

Since the Gaylord Building was unable to hold a formal reception due to the pandemic, Owen said Lamb’s daughter brought Lamb into the building last month for a private viewing of the exhibit. He was astonished.

“He said, ‘Did I do all that?’” Owen said. “It was a really sweet moment for him to see his work all together like that. I’m sure some of the pieces he had not seen in a very long time, so that was really nice.”

Lamb’s exhibit is within the Gaylord Building’s core exhibit, “Illinois Passage: Connecting the Continent,” located at 200 W. 8th St. in Lockport. Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays and noon until 5 p.m. Saturdays. Appointments are not necessary.

For more information, visit gaylordbuilding.org.

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This is part of a new exhibit at the Gaylord Building in Lockport called, “Life Along the Canal: The Art of John M. Lamb,” which premieres the folk art of Lamb, a local historian. (Photo provided)