Three Bridges, c. 1921

Provenance:

Private Collection, Cora Edith Bruce (1939–2017), Chicago, Illinois, and Woods Hole, Massachusetts.
By descent within the family of John A. Roche (1844–1904), 30th Mayor of Chicago (1887–1889).
Thence by inheritance.

Provenance Note

Cora Edith Bruce, born in Chicago, Illinois, was the great-granddaughter of John A. Roche, a pivotal figure in the city’s late-nineteenth-century transformation into a modern industrial center. Roche’s legacy in Chicago extends beyond public office to engineering and industrial innovation: he held senior leadership roles with Otis Elevator Company, contributed to early elevator safety technologies fundamental to the development of skyscrapers, and served as President of the Lake Street Elevated Railroad Company. He was also a founder and first president of the board of trustees of the Lewis Institute, established in Chicago as a progressive technical school emphasizing engineering and applied sciences.

Bruce, a graduate of Northwestern University, was the founder and proprietor of the Woods Hole Gallery (1965–2010) and remained an active collector and steward of historically significant works of art. Three Bridges, exhibited in 1921 Annual Exhibition of the Art Institute of Chicago, remained in her collection until her death, maintaining a direct familial and cultural connection to Chicago’s industrial and architectural heritage.