Biographical material assembled by Henry on herself (1929-1987) and Rowena Fry (1927-1987) consists of brief typescripts, letters, clippings, exhibition catalogs, samples of Christmas cards designed by Henry and Fry, a print "Bird's Tree in Winter" by Henry (1968), and photographs of works of art. The material emphasizes Henry's mural for the Springdale, Arkansas post office, commisssioned for the Section of Fine Arts, and her work for the Oscar Mayer Company. A subject file contains clippings (1958-1987) concerning Hubert Ropp, Dean of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, who had a great influence on the careers of Henry and Fry.
Arrangement:
Due to the small size of this collection the papers are arranged as one series.
Biographical / Historical:
Natalie Henry (1907-1992) was a muralist active in Chicago, Illinois. Rowena Fry (1892-1990) was a painter and educator active in Chicago, Illinois.
Natalie Henry was best known for her post office murals completed under the United States Department of the Treasury. She managed the art supply store at the Art Institute of Chicago from 1948 until her retirement in 1972. Fry was born in Alabama and moved to Chicago in 1923 to study at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Henry and Fry attended the Hubert Ropp School of Art. Both exhibited regularly at the Chicago Society of Artists and the Art Institute of Chicago during the 1930s and 1940s. Henry and Fry shared an apartment in the Lambert Tree Studios Building from 1948 until moving back to their respective family homes in Arkansas and Tennessee in the 1980s. In 1989, Fry joined Henry in her home in Malvern, Arkansas.
Provenance:
Donated 1989 by Natalie S. Henry.
Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
