Shelved

It was known as the Midwest's biggest mural, over 100 feet long, and a pride of the WPA Art Project when it was painted eight years ago. It was meant to portray 100 years of Iowa history. It was painted in the neat, stiff manner which Grant Wood made famous, and just to make its immortality a sure bet, it was done in the favorite medium of Renaissance art, egg tempera.

But it was not a popular success. Said Fair Secretary Lloyd Cunningham: "The whole Fair Board was tired of being kidded about that picture. It was an insult to our pioneer Iowa farmers. It made them look coconut-headed, barrel-necked and low-browed."

Last week the WPA's ambitious mural was sawed up to make shelves and roof patches for Iowa's State Fair.

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