Artist:  Natalie Smith Henry  (1907-1992 )

Title:  Local Industries

Date:  1940

Dimensions: 

Medium:  oil on canvas

Location:  Shiloh Museum of Ozark History
                   located at 118 West Johnson, Springdale, Arkansas

About the Mural: Natalie Henry was commissioned to create a mural for Springdale, Arkansas as a result of an Honorable Mention in a Section of Fine Arts competition. She visited town and observed that most farms within the area had vineyards and orchards and that the houses were quite well maintained. She used her father, brother, and brother-in-law as models for the figures within the composition. After installing the mural in Springdale, she returned to Malvern, Arkansas and was given a tea party in honor of completing her first commercial project.

The mural shows people engaged in the typical pursuits of that prosperous agricultural community: grape, strawberry, and orchard growing, as well as poultry raising. On the left, a poultry buyer handles a chicken while a boy and small girl are feeding others. On the right a strawberry buyer examines the berries and bargains for the output of the field. In the middle background are other crops, merging into other farms, and in the distance are the rolling hills of the Ozark Mountains.

About the Artist:  Natalie S. Henry was born in Malvern, Arkansas in 1907. She received her art training at the Art Institute of Chicago and studied under Hubert Ropp.

About the Location:  Springdale is located in Washington County. The area's strawberry crop was one of the most prominent agricultural products. In 1939, it brought in a quarter of a million dollars during the two week season.