She went from being an interior designer working out of her Evanston home to one of the most influential dealers in the Chicago art scene.

Now she’s come home.

More than 300 guests attended Sunday’s opening of Evanston Art Center’s exhibit “Roberta Lieberman: A Sharp Eye — An Art Dealer’s 40 Year Journey.” The exhibit celebrates Roberta Lieberman’s influence and accomplishments in the Chicago art scene and her instrumental role in nurturing some of the city’s talents into nationally recognized and respected artists.

Works in the exhibit come from a diverse range of artistic movements such as abstract art, surrealism and magical realism. It features work by a variety of artists whom Lieberman worked with throughout the years in her gallery, such as painter Joe Zucker and sculptor Deborah Butterfield, whose work includes the horse sculpture in the Arne and Mary Oldberg Park in downtown Evanston.

The exhibit kicks off the center’s 75th anniversary celebrations.

Lieberman, who grew up and lived in Evanston, did not attend because she broke her hip last Friday, but plenty of others in attendance spoke highly of her contributions and her work.

“This important exhibition underscores the role of this woman in the art world,” said exhibit curator Martha Winans Slaughter. “She’s a very gracious, wonderful person — a great bridger of the art world and collecting.”

Lieberman and Robert Zolla co-founded the Zolla/Lieberman Gallery on the South Side of Chicago in 1965. They moved the gallery in 1976 to the River North area, then an industrial region with no other art galleries.

A fire devastated the gallery in 1989, but Zolla and Lieberman relocated within the area and continued succeeding in the community. The area is now known as the River North Gallery District.

“Roberta had the vision to pick the River North,” said art adviser and business associate Anne Lyman. “She’s kind of been the catalyst for all of the art community.”

Lyman credited Lieberman’s use of large spaces and tall ceilings to display big sculptures during a time when other galleries used smaller places in more popular parts of Chicago.

Lyman also said Lieberman had a unique style in nurturing artists over a long range of time — some for 40 years or more — while most galleries maintain relationships with artists for only several years.

“It’s to her credit that she has aesthetic and ethical vision to stay with these people,” Lyman said.

Sculptor Jin Soo Kim is one of those artists, though she had achieved national success even before her work was featured in the Zolla/Lieberman Gallery. Her mixed-media sculpture “Louis” is featured in the exhibit.

What drew Kim to Lieberman was not just her sharp eye but also her appreciation for art.

“She believes it is best to go with the strongest piece, whether it’s sellable or not,” Kim said. “She is going with the life of the work instead of the commercial aspect. It made me feel that she is really free-thinking.”

Alan Leder, the executive director of the Evanston Art Center, agreed. Although he stressed that all of the center’s exhibits were strong, he said he felt “the convergence of this art is probably some of the strongest we’ve had in several years.”

“It’s an amazingly strong show,” Leder said. “The artists are at a prominent, high-profile level that we can’t help but have an incredible show.”

The exhibit runs through Feb. 18 at the Evanston Art Center, 2603 Sheridan Road.