Elmhurst in DuPage County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Cowboy Dream

2025, painted steel, 12x5x5 feet.

— Crossings by Bernard Williams —

Cowboy Dream Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, January 24, 2026

1. Cowboy Dream Marker

Inscription. Cowboy Dream celebrates the legacy and achievements of Black cowboys that shaped the American West after Reconstruction- a narrative often overlooked in American history and entertainment. Following the Civil War, many Black Americans ventured West to drive cattle and build the frontier. Tying into the agricultural theme presented in Black Tractor Project, Williams uses silhouettes of a cowboy and farm animals to reclaim and reassert Black cowboys' prominent presence in the West back into American history. This abstract, metal sculpture is one of two works in CROSSINGS that resemble sign posts, referencing a confluence of past, present, and future by pointing in multiple directions simultaneously.

CROSSINGS is a solo exhibition by acclaimed Chicago-based artist Bernard Williams traversing the Elmhurst Art Museum's campus, with four dynamic sculptures in the park and an airplane sculpture inside the Museum's Hostetler Gallery. The works in CROSSINGS address the concept of mobility—not just as physical

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movement forward, but as the human aspiration to rise to better circumstances.

About Bernard Williams
Williams is a Chicago native celebrated for his public murals, sculptures, and paintings that highlight little-known or forgotten narratives in history. The painter/sculptor has exhibited his artwork both regionally and nationally. His public sculptures and murals are spread throughout the Chicagoland area.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Agriculture • Arts, Letters, Music • Settlements & Settlers.

Location. 41° 53.909′ N, 87° 56.59′ W. Marker is in Elmhurst, Illinois, in DuPage County. It is on Cottage Hill Avenue west of Adelaide Street, on the right when traveling south. The marker is near the parking lot in front of the Elmhurst Art Museum. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 150 South Cottage Hill Avenue, Elmhurst IL 60126, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally,

Cowboy Dream sculpture and marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, January 24, 2026

2. Cowboy Dream sculpture and marker

this marker is in Greater Chicago.

It is also in the American Midwest

and on the Great Lakes.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture

and also the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Spirit of Bessie Coleman (a few steps from this marker); Carl F. Kranz and Elmhurst College (about 800 feet away, measured in a direct line); Galena & Chicago Union R.R. (about 800 feet away); Haumea (approx. 0.2 miles away); Elmhurst College (approx. 0.2 miles away); Reinhold Niebuhr (approx. 0.2 miles away); Elmhurst Vietnam Veterans Memorial (approx. 0.2 miles away); The Old Elmhurst Fire Bell (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Elmhurst.

Also see . . .
1. Elmhurst Art Museum: Crossings by Bernard Williams. (Submitted on January 26, 2026, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)
2. Bernard Williams official site.

Crossings by Bernard Williams image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, January 24, 2026

3. Crossings by Bernard Williams

The yellow Bessie Coleman sculpture and related marker are to the left; Cowboy Dream (black) and its related sign are to the right. The Elmhurst Art Museum is in the far background.

(Submitted on January 26, 2026, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)
3. African Americans on the Frontier. From the Historical Society of Pennsylvania (Submitted on January 26, 2026, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)

Credits. This page was last revised on January 26, 2026. It was originally submitted on January 26, 2026, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 32 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on January 26, 2026, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.