Hebru Brantley Named Union League Club of Chicago’s 2026 Philip Wicklander Distinguished Artist

Awards Program Honoring Hebru Brantley at Union League Club of Chicago on January 21 at 5:30 p.m.

CHICAGO, IL, UNITED STATES, January 13, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Chicago Artist Hebru Brantley will become the latest to receive the Union League Club of Chicago’s (ULCC) Philip Wicklander Distinguished Artist award on Wednesday, January 21 at the Union League Club at 5:30 p.m.

Brantley is an American artist who began his career in Chicago, where he developed his signature narrative-driven characters like Flyboy. Influenced by Warhol and Basquiat, his work explores identity, hope and power while reimagining modern mythology through his concept of “dark fiction,” centering people of color as heroes. His practice spans painting, sculpture and immersive installations such as Nevermore Park, with exhibitions in cities including Tokyo, Hong Kong, Miami, New York and Chicago. He currently lives in Los Angeles and is expanding into film and television directing.

Since its inception in 1998, the ULCC’s Distinguished Artist Award, posthumously named after its founder and Past ULCC President Philip Wicklander, has honored 22 artists. They include: Richard Hunt, Ed Paschke, Don Baum, Vera Klement, Ruth Duckworth, Kerry James Marshall, Michiko Itatani, John David Mooney, Barbara Crane, Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle, Robert Lostutter, James Valerio, Dawoud Bey, William Conger, Phyllis Bramson, Anne Wilson, Theaster Gates, Ellen Lanyon, Nick Cave, Zhou Brothers (ShanZuo & DaHuang Zhou), Michelle Grabner and Barbara Kasten.

ULCC Distinguished Artists receive a complimentary membership at the ULCC when accepting the award.

ABOUT THE UNION LEAGUE CLUB OF CHICAGO
Founded in 1879, the Union League Club of Chicago has a long history of supporting the arts, which dates back to 1891. The ULCC also supported the establishment of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Field Museum and the Harold Washington Library as well as building its own comprehensive private collection of American art. The collection is comprised of more than 700 paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints and photographs, with almost a third of the collection being created by women.

To learn more about the Union League Club of Chicago, visit www.ulcc.org.

Jared Wike
Union League Club of Chicago
+1 312-435-4829
jwike@ulcc.org
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