Tony Fitzpatrick (1958 -) Born in Chicago in 1958, Tony Fitzpatrick is a former prizefighter, poet, occasional movie actor and self-taught artist. Fitzpatrick has many national solo shows to his credit. His work is in the collections of (among others) the Art Institute of Chicago; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; the Museum of Modern Art, New York; and the National Museum of American Art, Washington, D.C. From 1990-94 he operated the World Tattoo Gallery in Chicago and co-founded Big Cat Press in 1992. His bleak and iconic works are influenced by Haitian artistic sources and reveal the darker aspects of American culture. The President's Artist in Residence program was created at the University of Nebraska in 1993 to encourage a cooperative initiative between the fine and performing arts units on the Lincoln, Omaha and Kearney campuses. Each artist spends time on each campus and does a public presentation in each venue.