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Cover of 32-page booklet listing 106 paintings of featured artists. Originals found in Folder 1. |
Central Illinois Art Exposition
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| Table of Contents |
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| Collection Information | |
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Volume of Collection:
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One Box.
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Collection Dates:
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1939, 1989
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Restrictions:
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Some brittle documents. Use photocopies
unless authorized by Librarian / Archivist.
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Reproduction Rights:
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Permission to reproduce or publish material in this collection must be obtained in writing from the McLean County Museum of History.
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Location:
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Archives
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Notes:
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For additional information, see:
Central Illinois Art Exposition photographs file
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These men, along with city and county officers and special guards, watched constantly over the Art Exposition paintings. |
Charles Stephenson Jr., Art Exposition committe member, looks over paintings being readied for display. |
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Both photos courtesy of The Pantagraph.
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4 page flier handed out as promotion for the Central Illinois Art Exposition. Click to enlarge. |
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| Historical Sketch |
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The Central Illinois
Art Exposition was possibly the most successful diversion in McLean County
during the Great Depression. The drive to bring the paintings of important
artists to Bloomington was led by Pantagraph publisher Loring Merwin and
Roland's department store owner Raymond Wakeley. The Exposition ran at
the Scottish Rite Temple (now known as the Bloominton Center for the Performing
Arts) in Bloomington for three weeks from March 19 to April 8, 1939. The
artists featured at the Exposition included masters such as Titian, Rembrandt,
El Greco, Manet, Monet, Renoir and contemporary artists including the
now-famous Grant Wood. The Director of New York Art Gallery, Alan D. Gruskin,
helped supervise the acquisition and selection of paintings for the exposition.
With these masterpieces came the National Guard, as well as national media
attention, such as coverage by Art Digest and Newsweek, Time and Life
magazines. The National Guard was on hand to protect the masterpieces
throughout the exposition. The exposition was viewed by approximately
42,000 people from 97 towns in the surrounding counties, 20,000 of which
were students. Because of the success of the exposition, 82 percent of
the money raised to fund it was returned to those who made donations.
This was a great gesture in a time when money was tight. Frederic Taubes
painting "Seated Woman" was gifted by the expositions sponsors to Bloomington
where it permanently resides.
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| Scope and Contents Note |
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The Central
Illinois Art Exposition collection consists of 1 box and 16 folders containing
material from 1939 and 1989. Items in the collection include the exposition
catalogue, promotional materials, correspondence, tickets, financial records,
blueprints, newspaper clippings, national media coverage, photos and material
on the Fifty Year Anniversary Exhibit. Folder 1 contains the catalogue
for the exposition. Folders 2 and 3 contain the promotional materials.
Folder 4 contains Loring Merwin's correspondence. Folder 5 contains tickets
from the exposition. Folder 6 contains financial records for the donations
made by the public and business. Folder 7 contains blueprints for the
exposition. Folder 8 contains wire service bulletins. Folders 9, 10, and
11 contain Pantagraph clippings and national media coverage. Folders 12,
13, 14, and 15 contain publicity photos of the exposition. Folder 16 contains
material on the Fifty Year Anniversary Exhibit.
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Box and Folder Inventory
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Folder 1:
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Exposition Catalogue (6 copies)
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1.1.1
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32-page booklet listing 106 paintings
(Note: membership of organizing committees listed on pgs. 2-3)
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Folder 2:
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Promotional Material
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1.2.1
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Flier: "List of Paintings to be Included
in Central Illinois Art Exposition" (2 copies)
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1.2.2
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Brochure: "Time Has Decreed They
Shall Live!" (6 copies)
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Folder 3:
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Poster Contest Flier
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1.3.1
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Central Illinois Art Exposition Junior
and Senior High School Poster Conference
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Folder 4:
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Correspondence (32 items)
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Folder 5:
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Tickets
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1.5.1
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Patron season ticket
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1.5.2
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Admit One 25¢ (1 sheet of 5 tickets)
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Folder 6:
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Financial Records
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1.6.1
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Donations list (3 pages)
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1.6.2
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Expenses and receipts (3 pages)
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Folder 7:
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Blueprints
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1.7.1
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"Details of racks for the Central
Illinois Art Exposition Scottish Rite Temple" Schaeffer & Hooton Architect.
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Folder 8:
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Wire service bulletins
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1.8.1
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February 23, 1939
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1.8.2
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February 23
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1.8.3
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February 23
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1.8.4
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March 14 |
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1.8.5
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March 19 |
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1.8.6
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March 20 |
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1.8.7
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March 21 |
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1.8.8
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March 23 |
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1.8.9
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March 31 |
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1.8.10
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April 6 |
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1.8.11
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April 10 |
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Folder 9:
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Pantagraph Clippings Part I
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1.9.1
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"These Great Paintings To Be Shown
Here" (full page) February 19, 1939, p. 12.
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1.9.2
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"Glimpses Into The Central Illinois
Art Exposition" (sixteen-page supplement) March 17, 1930.
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Folder 10:
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Pantagraph Clippings Part II
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(see folder in box for list)
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Folder 11:
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National Media Coverage
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1.11.1
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"For the 'Corn-Belt' " The Art Digest
(March 15, 1939) p. 48 (photocopy).
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1.11.2
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"Midland Marvel" Time magazine (March
27, 1939).
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1.11.3
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"Finest Art In U.S. Goes To Illinois
Corn Belt For Big Small-Town Show" Life magazine (March 27, 1939)
p. 58.
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1.11.4
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"Painting of Five centuries in Mid-America"
The Art Digest (April 1, 1939) p. 12 (electrostatic copy and original).
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1.11.5
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"Bloomington Business Shows World
Fames Art Treasures" American Business (May 1939) p. 21, 50 (electrostatic
copy).
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1.11.6
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"Old Masters for Corn Belt: Businessmen's
Project Shows Art Gems to Bloomington" Newsweek (no date) p. 26
(electrostatic copy).
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Folder 12:
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Publicity Photos Part I
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1.12.1
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Titian "Portrait of a Nobleman"
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1.12.2
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Bartolo Di Giovanni "Madonna and
Child"
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1.12.3
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Magnasco "Seascape with Figures"
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1.12.4
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Tiepolo "Madonna with Child Holding Bird" |
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1.12.5
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Canaletto (Canale) "Church of SS" |
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1.12.6
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Patinir "Judgment of Paris" |
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1.12.7
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Benson "Nativity" |
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1.12.8
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Rubens "The Bear Hunt" |
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1.12.9
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Van Dyck "Head of a Youth" |
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1.12.10
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David Teniers the Younger "Interior of a Public House" |
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1.12.11
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Frans Hals "Fisher Girl" |
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1.12.12
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Rembrandt "Lamentation over Christ" |
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1.12.13
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Maes "Portrait of a Gentlemen" |
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1.12.14
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El Greco "The Penitent Magdalene" |
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1.12.15
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Ribera "St. Joseph" |
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1.12.16
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Chardin "The Bubble Blowers" |
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1.12.17
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Fragonard "Venus and Cupid" |
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1.12.18
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Delacroix" "Lion Devouring an Arab" |
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Folder 13:
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Publicity Photos Part II
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1.13.1
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Camille Pissarro "Landscape Near
Patoise"
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1.13.2
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Manet "The Lange Boy"
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1.13.3
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Degas "Bateaux Abordant Berck"
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1.13.4
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Degas "Dancer on the Stage" |
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1.13.5
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Sisley "Station at Sevres" |
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1.13.6
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Monet "Nymphaeas" |
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1.13.7
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Monet "Basket of Apples" |
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1.13.8
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Renoir "Maison a Cagnes" |
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1.13.9
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Renoir "Young Woman Looking at Etching" |
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1.13.10
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Gauguin "Iraro Te Oviri, Tahiti" |
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1.13.11
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Toulouse-Lautrec "Circus Medrano" |
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1.13.12
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Gainsborough "Portrait Viscount Downe" |
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1.13.13
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Romney "Portrait of Master Hartley" |
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1.13.14
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Peale "George Washington" |
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1.13.15
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Stuart "Portrait of Mrs. Mason" |
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1.13.16
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Inness "The Valley on a Gloomy Day" |
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1.13.17
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Newman "Madonna and Child" |
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1.13.18
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Homer "Watching the Breakers" |
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Folder 14:
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Publicity Photos Part III
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1.14.1
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Eakins "Portrait of Mrs. Ward"
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1.14.2
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Blakelock "Moonlight Sonata"
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1.14.3
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Ryder "The Waste of Waters in Their Field" |
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1.14.4
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Duveneck "Woman with Forget-Me-Nots" |
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1.14.5
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Luks "Woman With a Black Cat" |
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1.14.6
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Bellows "Dempsey and Firpo" |
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1.14.7
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Beal "Scene from 'Victoria Regina' " |
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1.14.8
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Bishop "The Kid" |
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1.14.9
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Bouche "Jean" |
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1.14.10
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Bruce "After the Rain" |
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1.14.11
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Cadmus "Self Portrait" |
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1.14.12
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Carroll "Georgia Resting" |
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1.14.13
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Corbino "Hurricane Wreck" |
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1.14.14
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Davis "Reclining Figure" |
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1.14.15
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Du Bois "Conversation Piece" |
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1.14.16
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Etnier "Bermuda Garden" |
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1.14.17
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Evergood "The Siding" |
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1.14.18
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Hartley "After the Storm" |
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Folder 15:
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Publicity Photos Part IV
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1.15.1
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Hopper "Cape Cod Afternoon"
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1.15.2
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Kroll "New England Landscape" |
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1.15.3
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Laning "Street Scene" |
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1.15.4
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Laufman "Hillside Cabins" |
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1.15.5
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Marsh "Wooden Horses" |
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1.15.6
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Mattson "Silver Spay" |
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1.15.7
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Meltsner "Study of a Dancer" |
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1.15.8
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Palmer "Fish Reels" |
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1.15.9
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Peirce "County Fair" |
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1.15.10
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Philip "Rochell in Brown" |
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1.15.11
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Rosenthal "Mexican School" |
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1.15.12
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Sepeshy "Wake of Steamer" |
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1.15.13
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Shulkin "Antiquity and Today" |
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1.15.14
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Simkhovitch "Island Beach" |
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1.15.15
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Sloan "The White Way" |
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1.15.16
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Smith "New England Domicile" |
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1.15.17
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Soyer "Scrubwomen" |
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1.15.18
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Speicher "The Blue Necklace" |
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1.15.19
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Sterne "High School Student" |
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1.15.20
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Taubes "Seated Woman" |
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1.15.21
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Varga "Groceries and Ice" |
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1.15.22
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Wood "American Gothic" |
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Folder 16:
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Fifty-Year Anniversary
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1.16.1
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Brochure: "Fifty Year Anniversary
of the Central Illinois Art Exposition" September 28 to October 27, 1989,
at the McLean County Arts Center (2 copies)
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1.16.2
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Condition Reports of artwork received
and returned (9)
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1.16.3
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Receipt of Delivery, dated September
27, 1989, from the University of Chicago (2 pgs.)
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1.16.4
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Artist profiles and descriptions
of artwork (20 pgs.)
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