Just before school started I watched Rachel for a couple of days. One day we went to see the 3D movie, G Force, but the big deal was what we did on the second day.
You may remember that Rachel liked the murals that Dick Pinney made. The first one she saw was at the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art. After that we did some research to see where others were and visited quite a number of them.
Last year the flood forced some of the locations to close so the murals were unavailable for viewing, but that is starting to change now and we saw some more when she was here.
There used to be a mural in the Iowa Electric tower, now called the Alliant Building. That mural hung in a bar named “Osgood Shepherd’s”. Shepherd was the first settler in Cedar Rapids and reportedly also a horse thief. His cabin was not far from where the bar was located 125 years or so later. The establishment has long been out of business and few people knew where the mural got off to. Research indicated it was acquired by Harold Becker of Guaranty Bank. But that was one of the buildings impacted by the flood. So, I called and they said I could have a look at it.
When we got there his secretary showed us where it was and we took some pictures. Then she said they had some more. Bonus! Mr Becker had a personal one that Pinney had made for him specifically. It was in his office. He is the bank president and his secretary just ushered us right in. He was interested in our project and asked Rachel about it. While I was taking pictures of it Rachel was looking around and inspecting this and that. Egad. But it was OK. He has quite a number of interesting momentos.
As we were finishing up there, the secretary said there was another one downstairs, maybe 2. Double bonus. The third one had been done for the bank as a piece of corporate art. She said she was trying to locate the fourth one, but wasn’t able to. She thought it may have been destroyed by the flood waters.
Sue Hawn also told us about one she knew of. It was the Wall of Honor at Kirkwood Community College. This one was not quite a mural. It is a place where people are honored for their contributions to the school, but Pinney decorated the framing so it kinda counts.
Here is a detail of the central section.
We still have a couple to visit yet so keep your eye out in the future.
Those are pretty neat!
What a fun time you and Rachel had. I bet she loves visiting granpa!
Butch,
You really hit pay dirt at this bank. Is the second picture you published the art that was made for the bank president? It is much more plain and uncluttered than his other murals. Kind of stilted if you know what I mean! It’s fun to see a few of them together so that you can compare.
Butch,
You really hit pay dirt at that bank. The second photo is the one done for the bank president? You can tell his (Pinneys) purse was more engaged than his heart!! It’s so much more sedate, not nearly as cluttered and lively as his other pieces. It was fun to see several photos at one time. (And good for you for taking such good care of Rachel!)
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