Above: Three pieces of art were donated to beautify the Cook County courtroom walls in November 2010. Attorneys were encouraged to make the contributions by retiring Judge Kenneth Sandvik. (L-R) Richard Swanson with Afternoon Shadows; Scott Smith with Susie Islands; and artist Marie Westerman with the weaving Raven Flight, donated by Mike Hero.
As Judge Kenneth A. Sandvik approached his retirement, he continued to encourage the attorneys who practiced in his courtroom to make a contribution of art to the community. Sandvik began the Cook County tradition himself in 2006 with the donation of a multimedia portrait, Moving Forward, by 1997 Cook County High School graduate Dan Hansen.
Judge Sandvik said he had first seen the idea of lawyers donating art to brighten the institutional-looking walls of a courtroom in North Dakota. He thought it was a great idea and encouraged others to do the same with works by local artists. They did.
Then-County Attorney Bill Hennessy contributed an oil painting of a rocky shoreline by Tom McCann of Grand Marais. Attorney-turned-photographer Don Davison shared a photograph he took, Devil Track Sunset, which complemented the oil perfectly.
In 2009, court personnel added a whimsical trio of moose painted by Liz Sivertson of Grand Marais. Contributing to that donation were Judge Sandvik, former Deputy Clerk Elaine Rabold, former Court Administrator Larry Saur, Mary Sommerness, Public Defender Fred Friedman, and Court Reporter Jamie Block.
Left: Also added to the courtroom wall was a display case containing Judge Sandvik’s gavel and tie— not the one pictured here. Sandvik was asked to donate one of his colorful ties and he did, gifting the courthouse with a patriotic-themed tie.
But with open space on the plain white walls, Sandvik suggested that other court visitors help out and happily, in November, his efforts were rewarded with not one piece of art for the courtroom, but three.
Attorney Scott Smith contributed an interesting textured ceramic work entitled Susie Islands by Ethan Hoskins, formerly of Schroeder.
Raven Flight is the name of the intricate weaving in the traditional Scandinavian style donated by Attorney Michael Hero. What makes this unique piece even more meaningful is that Hero’s wife, Marie Westerman, created it.
And the third piece, donated by Richard Swanson, technically does not meet the requirement that the art be “local.” However, Swanson explained that he purchased Afternoon Shadows by James Wilcox Dimmers when he lived far from the North Shore in the 1980s. He and the artist became friends and Dimmers created the painting for Swanson of his beloved northern pines in snow. “He comes up here a lot and enjoys it up here. So, it’s ‘almost’ local,” said Swanson.
After the unveiling of the latest courtroom art, Sandvik’s friends surprised him. Twentyfive of his colleagues had collaborated on a memorable departing gift. In keeping with the “fashion” theme on one wall of the courtroom, which includes an old suit coat belonging to the late Attorney James Sommerness and the fringed leather jacket belonging to retired County Attorney Bill Hennessy, the judge was presented with a beautifully crafted display case to hold his gavel and a tie. In the case was a somewhat plain “placeholder” tie. Sandvik was asked to provide one of his own, more colorful neckpieces, which he later did. The case is now mounted on the Cook County courtroom wall with a patriotic-themed tie from Sandvik encased to remember the judge who oversaw the courtroom for 26 years.
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