Ed Paschke’s artwork still dazzles even in mural reproductions in a Northwest Side viaduct

A viaduct on Lawrence Avenue just west of the Kennedy Expressway includes numerous murals that are replicas of Ed Paschke paintings. The mural at left is based on his 2000 “Orange Bird” painting. (Robert Herguth / Sun-Times)

Ed Paschke has been dead for nearly 20 years, but the famed Chicago artist still is a strong presence on the Northwest Side. That can be seen on a stretch of Lawrence Avenue in Jefferson Park, where a viaduct is filled with murals that are replicas of his paintings.

The murals went up in 2013, a year before the Ed Paschke Art Center opened nearby at 5415 W. Higgins Ave.