Ramsey County History – Summer 2013: “Fine Art Exhibits at the Minnesota State Fair, 1885–1914”

Fine Art Exhibits at the Minnesota State Fair, 1885–1914
Author: Leo J. Harris

The first Minnesota art exhibit was held in St. Paul at the 1857 territorial fair. From that year until 1884, few art exhibits were displayed at the fair, partly because the location Fair moved to different cities, and little notable art was produced. Beginning in 1885, the State Fair had a permanent location in St. Paul; consequently, fine art exhibits blossomed at the fair. After 1915, a wealth of artistic talent in Minnesota and the presence of commercial galleries and growing number of public museums in which to display fine art took precedence over the State Fair as the desired venue for showcasing fine art. Much of the credit for the serious display of fine art at the State Fair in the period between 1885 and 1914 was due to the work of Russell C. Munger, the fair’s first and longest-serving superintendent of  fine arts. Much of this article concentrates on the methods of display, the buildings used for fine art exhibits, and the notable works of fine art that were displayed at the Fair in this middle period.
PDF of Harris article