Lillian Colton (Sept. 8, 1911 – March 20, 2007) was a crop artist whose work, usually

portrait A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face is always predominant. In arts, a portrait may be represented as half body and even full body. If the subject in full body better r ...

s of

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s made from

agricultural Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created f ...

products such as wild rice,

hay Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticate ...

, and timothy seeds glued to

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, has been prominently displayed at the

Minnesota State Fair The Minnesota State Fair is the state fair of the U.S. state of Minnesota. Also known by its slogan, "The Great Minnesota Get-Together", it is the largest state fair in the United States by average daily attendance and the second-largest state f ...

for many years. She was "considered the

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (;''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''"Warhol" born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director and producer. A leading figure in the pop art movement, Warhol ...

of seeds" according to the

Minneapolis Star Tribune ''The Minnesota Star Tribune'', formerly the ''Minneapolis Star Tribune'', is an American daily newspaper based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. As of 2023, it is Minnesota's largest newspaper and the seventh-largest in the United States by circula ...

.''Star Tribune'', Minneapolis, MN, March 22, 2007, "The cream of Minnesota's crop artists dies"

Biography

Colton was born and raised on a farm near Sherburn, Minnesota in rural Martin County. Moving to

Owatonna, Minnesota Owatonna ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Steele County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 26,420 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Owatonna is home to the Steele County Fairgrounds, which hosts the Steele County F ...

after she married, she ran a beauty shop at her home in Owatonna called Cinderella Clip and Curl for 67 years. Lillian did not start as a crop artist until later in her life. Colton first entered her crop art at the Minnesota State Fair in 1966 and won nine "best-of-show" purple ribbons in eleven years. According to Steve Pooch, deputy general manager of the State Fair, "..Once she attained her level of expertise, there wasn't anybody that could compete. ... Quite frankly, a lot of people didn't want to compete against her."''Pioneer Press'', St. Paul, MN TwinCities.com, March 23, 2007, "LILLIAN COLTON 1911-2007, The Grande Dame of State Fair Crop Art" As a result, she retired from the State Fair competition in 1983 "to let others have a chance at winning ribbons".Lillian Colton, 1911-2007
/ref> She continued to be part of the show, though with "at least 50 of seed art pictures" displayed in the Fair's Horticulture Building and was hired by the fair to do live demonstrations of crop art techniques for fairgoers. She lived in Owatonna, creating pieces until her death. In total, four generations have entered crop art at the MN State Fair (pictured).

Sources

* ''Seed Queen: The Story of Crop Art and the Amazing Lillian Colton,'' by Colleen Sheehy, with a foreword by Karal A. Marling, Minnesota Historical Society,
Lillian Colton, 1911-2007

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Colton, Lillian American folk artists Artists from Minnesota People from Martin County, Minnesota 1911 births 2007 deaths People from Owatonna, Minnesota 20th-century American women artists

Biography

See also

Sources

References