Leo Segedin, Evanston teacher and artist, dies at 97

Leo Segedin, an Evanston artist known for his vivid and colorful, figurative paintings of gritty cityscapes featuring exaggerated figures, taught art for 32 years at Northeastern Illinois University while pursuing his primary calling as an artist. With a career spanning 75 years, Segedin’s work captured his memories of growing up on Chicago’s West Side in a style described as magic realism. Influenced by social realist painters and Dutch masters, Segedin later incorporated social commentary in his art to address issues like the Vietnam War. Returning to Chicago cityscapes in the 1980s, Segedin’s detailed acrylic paintings depicted scenes from the 1940s, including elevated trains, old schoolyards, and images of himself as a child playing games.

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