Oscar landed at O'Hare last Friday and was treated to dinner hosted by Val and Mark Maron of Art Partners Gallery in Schaumburg (from left, Rosa Rottar (Art Partners Consultant), Mark Maron, Robert Patrick (Linda Jones Enterprises), Val Maron and Craig Kausen, CEO of Linda Jones Enterprises and Chairman of the Board of Chuck Jones Center for Creativity.  

Oscar traveled courtesy of the Center and Mrs. Chuck Jones.  It is the Oscar Chuck Jones won for best animated short subject in 1966 for his "The Dot and The Line."  He appeared the following evening at the gallery and was met with enthusiastic applause when he was first unveiled.  Oscar travels in a plain styrofoam container with a lot of red tape (as you can see below just before Mark Maron opened the box) and at first blush an observer might imagine that there was a heart or other important human organ waiting to be delivered to its recipient.  The reaction when the box is opened is much the same though, cries of delight and many oohs and aahs.    

After all of the evening's guests had gone home, many with their first work of Chuck Jones art, Oscar asked that a more formal photo be taken with the evening's special guest, Craig (grandson of Chuck Jones) who had produced a mini Chuck Jones film festival just for the occasion.  Here's Oscar held by Craig and behind, our hosts, from left, Val and Mark Maron and on the right, Rosa Rottar, all of Art Partners Gallery.  

This was Oscar's first foray out into the world since his time at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences in Beverly Hills last summer during the exhibit, Chuck Jones: An Animator's Life, From A to Z-z-z-z.  Where will you find him next?