Public mural headed by art department continues despite initial errors

Elmhurst University announced the placement of a mural on a north-facing wall of R.A. Faganel Hall as part of the 150-year celebration of EU, on March 4.

The mural will be painted by Andrew Sobol and Rafael Blanco, two art faculty members at EU. 

“The mural will be the first piece of public art in the city of Elmhurst — made possible in part due to our efforts and work with the city over the last two years,” Sobol told the The Leader. The design of the mural is being decided by vote. 

“Elmhurst University students, faculty and staff are invited to help decide which one of the four final design options, all created by Rafael and Andrew, will be painted,” said the email announcement.

The initial designs sent out to campus attributed a quote to Abraham Lincoln with something he did not say. The errors have since been fixed and an updated email was sent out with the corrections. 

“After the first email about this project went out on March 4, a sharp-eyed faculty member noticed that the quotation used in three of the mural designs was incorrectly attributed to Abraham Lincoln,” said the updated email. “Those designs have been revised, with a new quote by Lincoln.”

“The story is a case of a simple oversight of a quote that is very commonly attributed to Abraham Lincoln,” Sobol told The Leader. “After being made aware of the error, we sent out new mural design comps the EU community for a vote.”