The Central Illinois Art Exposition was possibly the most successful diversion in McLean County during the Great Depression. The drive to bring the paintings of important artists to Bloomington was led by Pantagraph publisher Loring Merwin and Roland's department store owner Raymond Wakeley. The Exposition ran at the Scottish Rite Temple (now known as the Bloominton Center for the Performing Arts) in Bloomington for three weeks from March 19 to April 8, 1939. The artists featured at the Exposition included masters such as Titian, Rembrandt, El Greco, Manet, Monet, Renoir and contemporary artists including the now-famous Grant Wood. The Director of New York Art Gallery, Alan D. Gruskin, helped supervise the acquisition and selection of paintings for the exposition. The exposition was viewed by approximately 42,000 people from 97 towns in the surrounding counties, 20,000 of which were students. Because of the success of the exposition, 82 percent of the money raised to fund it was returned to those who made donations. Frederic Taubes painting "Seated Woman" was gifted by the exposition's sponsors to Bloomington where it permanently resides. In 1989, a Fifty Year Anniversary Exhibit commemorated the event.
From the description of Central Illinois Art Exposition, Scottish Rite Temple, March 19-April 8, 1939, 1939, 1989. (Mclean County Historical Society Library). WorldCat record id: 733345175
