Mae Rhodes

She is survived by her three sons, C. Harker Rhodes III (Andrea), James Rhodes (Diana), and Edward Rhodes; by four grandchildren, C. Harker Rhodes IV (Geraldine), Travers Rhodes (Taylor Poor), Jessica Rhodes, and Charlie Rhodes; by one step-granddaughter, Rachael Coro; and by two great-grandchildren, Charlotte Rhodes and C. Harker “Quincy” Rhodes V. She was preceded in death by her parents, Albert C. Svoboda and Mae Subert Svoboda; by her husband, C. Harker Rhodes, Jr.; and by her brother, Albert C. Svoboda, Jr.

Mae was born in Chicago on December 18th, 1929, graduating from Oak Park-River Forest High School in 1947. She received her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Chicago in 1948 and her Master of Public Administration degree from the University in 1951. Her Master’s thesis was a study of planning agencies in Chicago, focusing on the administrative structure and effectiveness of Chicago’s 1939 Plan Commission. Following graduation Mae worked briefly for the Chicago Land Clearance Commission. At the University of Chicago, Mae served as president of the University’s chapter of the Delta Sigma sorority and as president of the University’s Student Union. In April 1952, Mae married C. Harker Rhodes, Jr., whom she met when they were both undergraduates at the University.

Mae and Harker raised their family in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, where Mae was active in the League of Women Voters and played a leadership role in a wide range of service organizations. The principal focus of her interest, however, was the Art Institute of Chicago. An extraordinarily skilled art historian, her knowledge of the Institute’s collection was deep, insightful, and wide-ranging: her detailed, frequently revised notes ran to a number of volumes, and beginning in the 1970s she taught as a docent at the Institute. Mae and Harker’s financial support to the Art Institute assisted with acquisition of a number of significant works of medieval and early modern European art, including a unique, early, double-sided 15th century South German portrait, “Man in a Red Cap,” with a cadaver dancing over an open grave on its reverse; a 16th century German silver-and-enamel chalice; a 17th century crucifix by the Spanish artist Maria Josefa Sanchez; and a still-life by the noted 17th century female Dutch painter Maria van Oosterwijck.

Mae and Harker traveled the world widely, and Mae’s personal art collection reflected these travels. Mae and Harker were early visitors to the Sepik River Valley and Highlands of New Guinea. Other travels in Asia included not only China, Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore, but also the Solomon Islands and Tibet. In South America they explored Easter Island, the Galapagos Islands, the Amazon basin, Tierra del Fuego, and Incan sites. Their time in Mexico and Central America included numerous visits to Mayan, Aztec, and other pre-Columbian sites, while in Africa their travels included trips back-country in Mali and Cote d’Ivoire as well as visits to East, South, and North Africa. Their most frequent travels, however, were in Europe, including visits behind the Iron Curtain during the bleak days of the Cold War.

Mae and her mother, Mae Svoboda, moved to the Clare, in Chicago’s Near North Side, in 2009, where “the two Maes” were an active presence in the community and where they enjoyed their horizon-to-horizon panoramic view over the city. Until health intervened, Mae enjoyed everything the city offered, particularly its opera, classical music, and variety of museums and galleries.

A private family funeral and interment is planned. A memorial service, celebrating Mae’s life, will be held on Friday, July 14th, from 2pm to 4pm, at the Clare, 55 East Pearson Street, Chicago, Illinois.

In lieu of flowers, gifts in Mae’s memory can be made to the Mae Svoboda Rhodes Fund at the Art Institute of Chicago, attn: Philanthropy, Art Institute of Chicago, 111 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60603 or to the Clare Gift Trust, c/o David Anderson, 55 East Pearson Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.ChapelHillGardensWest.com for the Rhodes family.