Would it make a difference if artwork selected for an upcoming State quarter dollar was actually representative of another state?
A story in the Nov. 23 issue of the Lawrence Journal-World in Lawrence, Kan., raises the possibility that one of the design concepts selected for Kansas - a painting by John Steuart Curry called "Our Good Earth" - could be a portrayal of a Wisconsin wheat field.
The painting depicts a farmer standing in a wheat field holding a few stalks of in his hand as the wind tosses around the wheat. Two small, wind-blown children play in the foreground with a brooding sky in the background.
According to the article, Curry, a native Kansan, painted the painting while living in Wisconsin. The painting, which was used on a poster exhorting farmers to support the war effort, is in the collection of the University of Wisconsin.
Several members of the Kansas Commemorative Coin Design Commission indicated they believed the painting was part of Curry's mural at the Kansas Statehouse in Topeka, according to the article.
State Rep. Deena Horst, chairwoman of the coin committee, said she'd never gone to the Capitol to check and verify the artwork was the same.
According to the article, the statehouse mural depicts a farmer "standing with livestock, with his wife and children featured on the opposite wall. There is no wheat in that painting."
Three art experts interviewed for the article said it's hard to tell whether the painting was to have been representative of Kansas or Wisconsin.
"As to whether it's a Kansas wheat field or a Wisconsin wheat field, I couldn't possibly tell you," according to Charles Eldredge, a distinguished professor of art history at Kansas University.
"Memories of his rural [Kansas] upbringing certainly formed his work," Eldredge said.
Susan Earle, who manages the American and European art collection at Kansas University's Spencer Museum of Art, said, "The scene was probably not intended to represent a specific locale."
"It's more allegorical and symbolic. A lot of his work is clearly tied to the Kansas landscape, and some of it to the Wisconsin landscape," Earle said.
Russell Panczenko, director of the Elvehjem Museum of Art in Madison, Wis., said the painting was "painted here in Wisconsin. I don't know that it was supposed to be of Wisconsin."
Horst said, had "we known it was something that was painted in Wisconsin we might well have not considered it."
While the discussion may only end up being just that, future design concept selection committees should take notice and do their homework.
First Reports
Cormac Bateman of Maryland reported Nov. 11 that he received a 2003-P Arkansas quarter dollar in change from his father.
Cynthia Walter of Texas reported Nov. 13 that she found a 2003-D Arkansas quarter at work.
Doug Pogson of Massachusetts reported Nov. 14 that he received a roll of 2003-P Arkansas quarter dollars at a convenience store.
Heidi Huenergardt of Kansas reported Nov. 14 that she received a roll of 2003-D Arkansas quarters from a bank.
Winnie Skaarland of Montana reported Nov. 14 that she received a roll of 2003-D Arkansas quarters from her school's credit union.
Vernon Hainy of South Dakota reported Nov. 17 that he was able to get 16 2003-D Arkansas quarters from his bank.
Circulation Reports
Robert Arthur of Wisconsin reported Nov. 20 that his bank was able to supply him with 2003-D Arkansas quarter dollars.
Joyce Knopp of Iowa reported Nov. 24 that she received a 2003-P Arkansas quarter in change at a hospital cafeteria.
