TitleStudy for Minnesota, Granary of the World
Artist
Edwin Howland Blashfield
(American, 1848 - 1936)
Date1904
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsUnframed: 48 × 96 in.
Framed: 53 5/8 × 101 3/4 × 2 1/8 in., 100lb.
SignedSigned lower right: "E. H. Blashfield"
Credit LineNational Academy of Design, New York, Gift of Mrs. Edwin H. Blashfield, 1937
Object number98-P
Label TextThe Academy's large painting is the final study for one of the lunettes Blashfield installed in the Senate Chamber of the Minnesota Capitol. Blashfield worked closely with the architect, Cass Gilbert, in order that the rich colors of "Minnesota, Granary of the World" would harmonize with the varied hues of granite and marble used in the building. This allegory shows Blashfield's typical blend of symbolic figures and depictions of the "real" people of a given town, state, or enterprise. The commissioners desired that the mural represent Minnesota's development from a frontier state to a commercial power rivaling the East. 
