Overview

Teddy Roosevelt's head sculpted from butter. The Liberty Bell replicated in oranges. The Sioux City Corn Palace of 1891 encased with corn, grains, and grasses and stretching for two city blocks--with a trolley line running down its center. Between 1870 and 1930, from county and state fairs to the world's fairs, large exhibition buildings were covered with grains, fruits, and vegetables to declare in no uncertain terms the rich agricultural abundance of the United States. At the same fairs--but on a more intimate level--ice-cooled cases enticed fairgoers to marvel at an array of butter sculpture models including cows, buildings, flowers, and politicians, all proclaiming the rich bounty and unending promise held by the region.Often viewed as mere humorous novelties--fun and folksy, but not worthy of serious consideration--these lively forms of American art are described by Pamela H. Simpson in a fascinating and comprehensive history.

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9780816676194

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<p> Corn Palaces and Butter Queens will be THE book to fully document this sometimes odd but fascinating area of American cultural history, particularly important in the Midwest and Plains as the bread basket of the nation and world. --Colleen Sheehy, author of Seed Queen: The Story of Crop Art and the Amazing Lillian Colton

Author Information

Pamela H. Simpson (19462011) was the Ernest Williams II Professor of Art History at Washington and Lee University.

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