Heralded by many as the father of the Chicago Imagist school and the first artist who dared to create art of great expressive power outside the mainstream, H. C. Westermann is an important figure in Chicago contemporary art. His work has been associated with the Imagists, Neo-Dadaists, Pop Art, and the art of assemblage. While there are elements of all of these movements in his work, the personal quality and force of Westermann’s vision have consistently removed him from all convenient categories. Westermann’s imagery, which many have tried to understand, is intentionally indecipherable and speaks to the artist’s sometimes sardonic and always elusive sense of humor.