A Salute to State Fairs

State Fairs: Growing American Craft is the first exhibition dedicated to artists' contributions to the U.S. tradition. There are over 240 artworks, dating from the mid-19th century to the present.  

A must-see is a life-size butter cow, created on-site by Iowa State Fair's official butter sculptor, Sarah Pratt. It should also be interesting to view the size 96 boots worn by Big Tex from the State Fair of Texas, as well as Rod Zeitler's pyramid of 700 glass jars of preserved fruits and vegetables. While he's been a doctor for many years, Rod has also become a ribbon-winning ''canning superstar.''

The display opens on August 22 at the Smithsonian's Renwick Gallery in Washington, D.C., and runs through September 7, 2026.

A catalogue will be available to purchase at the museum's store or online.

For more, visit  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

An Important Date For Christie's

Christie's  has announced that one of  Ed Ruscha 's best known works will lead the  20th Century Evening Sale  during Fall Marquee Week next month. It is called  Standard Station, Ten-Cent Western   Being Torn in Half , and could go for as much as $50 million. The artist first encountered the  Standard Oil  gas stations during a road trip from his native Oklahoma to California in 1962. A press release points out that as  Andy Warhol  did with soup cans, Ed immortalized the gas station through seriality.  Others featured in the New York auction on the 19th of November include  Frank Stella, Willem de Kooning , and  Georgia O'Keeffe . Also on that date, the auction house will present  Mica   Ertegun 's collection--Part One. Artists include Ruscha,  David   Hockney, Joan Miro , and  Rene Magritte.   Christies  is pleased to announce that a good portion of the proceeds will benefit philanthro...
Read more

A Big Day For Record Collectors

The unofficial start of the shopping season is Black Friday--the day after Thanksgiving. This year, it falls on the 29th of November. With that in mind, those looking for music have lots of choices at  Record Store Day Black Friday . For the first time on vinyl, for instance,  Dark Horse Records  reissues  Leon Russell 's 1995  Hymns of Christmas . The instrumental album features orchestral arrangements and Leon's piano playing. Among the ten tracks are  Silent Night  and  Joy To The World . Another offering is  The Doors: Live in Detroit , from their May 8, 1970 performance at the  Cobo Arena . It's the first time the set is available on 4-LP vinyl. Part of the band's  Roadhouse Blues  tour, it was one of their longer shows. As a matter of fact, they played an hour beyond curfew, so were not allowed to return to the arena for future tours.  The  Allman Brothers Band, The Beaches , the  Ramones, Phil   ...
Read more

Lightfoot's Memorabilia

A popular performer's amplifiers, writing desks, clothing (shirts, vests, blazers, and jeans) and turquoise bracelet are going on the auction block next month. Also featured will be a variety of guitars owned by  Gordon Lightfoot . That includes the  Gibson  he used while writing  Sundown .   In addition, the sale offers photos and awards.  Gary Shrum , director of entertainment and music memorabilia at  Heritage Auctions , felt honored to work with Gordon's estate, as they have a ''deep love'' for the songwriter and brought in ''amazing personal pieces.'' Go to  ha.com  to view the items.
Read more