During the 1920s and 1930s hybrid corn gained a foothold in Iowa farm fields. Iowa State graduate Henry A. Wallace, son of Henry C. Wallace, established the Hi-Bred Seed Company (later Pioneer) in 1926. In 1933 he became U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and influenced the wider adoption of hybrid corn. Iowa Post Office murals painted in the 1930s under the New Deal depicted corn themes in Ames (Lowell Houser), DeWitt (John Bloom), and Mount Ayr (Orr Fisher), directly illustrating that corn was of great interest in the decade of the 1930s.
DeWitt post office mural by John Bloom.
Mount Ayr post office mural by Orr Fisher.
In October 1940 Iowa State produced a major exhibition for the National Corn Husking contest held in Davenport, Iowa. The exhibit featured J.C. Cunningham’s corn collection and Christian Petersen’s Native American women for the fountain in plaster. These activities were documented in an October 19, 1940 article in Wallace’s Farmer. After the exhibition, Petersen sculpted the women out of Bedford limestone. At the fountain dedication on May 6, 1941 the Des Moines Register stated, “the sculptures portray the influence of corn on civilization.”
Model for Autumn Maiden, 1940
Christian Petersen (Danish-American, 1885-1961)
Plaster
Gift of Friends of the University Museums. Partial funding for conservation by Mary Alice and Bill Reinhardt, Jr. In the Art on Campus Preparatory Studies and Maquette Collection, Christian Petersen Art Museum, University Museums, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa. U89.26abcd
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