Tony Fitzpatrick
Tony Fitzpatrick (November 24, 1958 – October 11, 2025) was an American artist, poet, and actor who drew on inspiration from his life in the Chicagoland Area. Fitzpatrick's signature artwork is based in printmaking and mixed-media collage. He published multiple books of his art and poetry in addition to having work exhibited at several art galleries across the United States.
Also recorded as Anthony Patrick
Tony Fitzpatrick
- Name
- Tony Fitzpatrick
- Born
- 24 November 1958
- Birthplace
- Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
- Died
- 11 October 2025
- Field
- Collage, drawing, painting, poetry
- Movement
- Chicago Imagist
- Nationality
- United States
- Occupation
- painter · printmaker · artist · actor
- Fields
- intaglio printing
- Movements
- pop art
- Languages
- English
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Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q7822347
In this article
Biography
Biography
The recorded working language is English. The field of work recorded is intaglio printing. Work by Tony Fitzpatrick is recorded in the collections of Minneapolis Institute of Art, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, New Mexico Museum of Art and Smithsonian American Art Museum.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Tony Fitzpatrick • Born — 24 November 1958 • Birthplace — Chicago, Illinois, U.S. • Died — 11 October 2025 • Place of death — Chicago, Illinois, U.S. • Field — Collage, drawing, painting, poetry • Movement — Chicago Imagist • Website — tonyfitzpatrick.co • Children — 2
Early life
Early life
Fitzpatrick was born on November 24, 1958, in Chicago. One of eight children, Fitzpatrick was raised in Lombard, Illinois. The son of a WWII veteran and burial vault salesman, Fitzpatrick grew up Catholic in the Chicago suburbs. As a child, Fitzpatrick would accompany his father on business trips and listen to stories about life in Chicago. During his youth, Fitzpatrick also developed a keen interest in birds, which influenced his later work. After attending Montini Catholic High School, he fell into a succession of temporary jobs including bouncer, cab driver, caddy, bartender, and day laborer. Fitzpatrick was also radio host for a time and later became a podcaster. Fitzpartick studied art at the College of DuPage.
Acting career
Acting career
Fitzpatrick acted on stage at Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago and in productions in New York City, and appeared in a number of major motion pictures and TV series including Patriot. He also appeared in 15 movies including Philadelphia and The Fugitive. He earned the Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Actor in 1991.
Personal life and death
Personal life and death
Fitzpatrick was open about his struggle with alcohol and drugs, which would occasionally interfere with his life and work. In 2024, Fitzpatrick said that he had not consumed alcohol for a 33-year stretch at one point. Fitzpatrick married Michele Garrahy on June 5, 1991, with whom he had two children, Max and Gabrielle. Fitzpatrick died from a heart attack at the Rush Medical Center in Chicago on October 11, 2025, at the age of 66.
Printmaking and publications
In 1992, Fitzpatrick opened a printmaking studio in Chicago, Big Cat Press, which later became the exhibition space, Firecat Projects, in 2010. Fitzpatrick later partnered to open Adventureland and also launched The Dime exhibition spaces. Fitzpatrick's artworks have been exhibited in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, The Art Institute of Chicago, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum, among others. Fitzpatrick drew inspiration from many sources, primarily drawing from Midwestern city life. In his artwork he often depicted native birds and incorporated elements of folk art. His work is visually busy, colorful, highly detailed and plays with the symbolic. Fitzpatrick combined drawings and original paintings with collage and poetry, where his images become narrative storytelling, and his writing becomes visual commentary. He had also designed his own tattoos and at one point was a tattoo artist himself. Fitzpatrick's published books include The Wonder: Portraits of a Remembered City, volumes 1, 2 & 3, This Train: An Artist's Journal, with an introduction by Alex Kotlowitz, Bum Town, Dime Stories, The Secret Birds, Max and Gaby's Alphabet, Dirty Boulevard, The Apostles of Humboldt Park, and The Sun at the End of the Road: Dispatches from an American Life, published by Eckhartz Press right before his death.
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Tony Fitzpatrick (artist), revision 1364528227 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Guarino, Mark. Chicago artist Tony Fitzpatrick — a fiercely independent essayist, painter and gallerist — dies at 66. WBEZ. October 11, 2025.
- 2.Haidri, Mary. Things We Drowned In the Rain Barrel. Pigeon Pages. March 10, 2019.
- 3.Fitzpatrick, Tony. Tony Fitzpatrick. Chicago Magazine. April 23, 2024.
- 4.Tony Fitzpatrick. The Poetry Foundation.
- 5.McGavin, Patrick. What Makes Tony Tick?. Chicago Reader. August 1, 1991.
- 6.Tony Fitzpatrick. www.steppenwolf.org.
- 7.Tony Fitzpatrick. MATRIX press.
- 8.Firecat Projects About. firecatprojects.
- 9.Chicago Gallery News A Man Walks Into a Museum: For Tony Fitzpatrick, 2021 is a Return to More Than Before. www.chicagogallerynews.com.
- 10.Results for "Tony Fitzpatrick" - The Metropolitan Museum of Art. www.metmuseum.org.
- 11.Tony Fitzpatrick MoMA. The Museum of Modern Art.
- 12.Fitzpatrick, Tony. The Switching Yard. 1999.
- 13.Smithsonian American Art Museum. Tony Fitzpatrick.
- 14.Depaul Art Museum. Remembered City: Prints and Drawings by Tony Fitzpatrick. 2003.
- 15.Steinberg, Neil. Tony Fitzpatrick, a Chicago treasure: 'You notice how lucky you are'. Chicago Sun Times. October 12, 2025.
- 16.Saha, Purbita. Reimagining the American Goldfinch. Audubon. 2016.
- 17.Myers, Quinn. Tony Fitzpatrick Looks Back on a 'Less-Than-Holy' Life in New Book, Steppenwolf Show. Block Club Chicago. September 22, 2025.
- 18.Chicago Gallery News. Stories from Memory: Tony Fitzpatrick Shares Tales and Art. September 24, 2025.
- 19.Rossiter, Shawn. Tony Fitzpatrick at Kayo Gallery. ArtistsOfUtah. December 8, 2011.
- 20.Search: 1 result found for "tony fitzpatrick". Tia Chucha's Centro Cultural & Bookstore.
- 21.Tony Fitzpatrick at The Book Cellar. curbside splendor. August 1, 2015.
- 22.Tony Fitzpatrick and Frank Catalano. curbside splendor. July 31, 2016.
- 23.AbeBooks. Tony Fitzpatrick: Max And Gaby's Alphabet - Mickey Cartin; Jonathan Demme; Tony Fitzpatrick; Lynne Warren: 9780933856677.
- 24.Pierogi Gallery. Tony Fitzpatrick Bio. March 16, 2010.
- 25.Eckhartz Press. The Sun at the End of the Road: Dispatches from an American Life. September 11, 2025.
- 26.Guarino, Mark. Chicago artist Tony Fitzpatrick — a fiercely independent essayist, painter and gallerist — dies at 66. Chicago Sun-Times. WBEZ. October 12, 2025.
- 27.Kim, Jae-Ha. Mastering the Art of True Love. October 17, 1999.
- 28.Frederick Holmes & Company. Tony Fitzpatrick.
- 29.Kogan, Rick. Tony Fitzpatrick, a Chicago artist in many realms, has died at 66. Chicago Tribune. October 11, 2025.
References
Citations
References
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reference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Prints
4,138 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
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- Tony RosenthalEngraver
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