A couple of years ago, when resident Kathy Demmer was perusing though an art gallery in Mason City, she spotted a print of a water color that was reminiscent to a scene she had seen before. Kathy picked the piece up and low and behold, the painting was a replica of our very own Hayfield Main Street. Needless to say the print did come home with Kathy that day!
What is even more interesting is how the painting came to be.
In 1924, Atlanta Sampson was on a train headed to Minneapolis, from Lyle MN, to attend the University of Minnesota to study art. There was a 3 hour layover in Hayfield, where she decided to paint a picture of our main street as it looked to her those days. The photo you see below is what she painted. The watercolor was also displayed at the US Embassy in Asmara, Eritrea, Africa!
One of the unique things about Atlanta, is she wasn't "discovered" until 1987 (age 90) and she did not have her first solo art show until 1987...she was 91 years old. That never deterred her and she of course had accumulated quite a collection in her 90 years!
This artwork (along with a ton of other memorabilia) will be on display during our Sesquicentennial on June 25 from 9am to 4pm at the Hayfield Town Hall.
Check out our full listing of the Sesquicentennial events via our website! We have something for everyone - over 40 events in 4 days!
"Hayfield Minnesota", by Atlanta Sampson, 1924 - Image Credit - Art of Embassies
Snapshot of the back of Kathy's Print
Resources -
Art of Embassies - https://art.state.gov/personnel/atlanta_sampson/
Atlanta Sampson Obituary - https://www.nytimes.com/1995/05/24/obituaries/atlanta-c-sampson-artist-98-had-her-first-solo-show-at-91.html
Visit Mason City Iowa - https://visitmasoncityiowa.com/blog/atlanta-c-sampson-exhibit/
I love this story! What a perfect example of how small the world really is!! I do implore you to accurately cite the location of Asmara. Africa is a continent, not a country. It would be like saying Hayfield, North America. The country should be Eritrea. So, for accuracy in reporting, it should read “Asmara, Eritrea, Africa“.