At the time, it seemed a little risky. School vacation had just begun, and here we were, asking children to sit down and draw the Picasso sculpture in Daley Plaza.
But about 350 children did just that, and what a variety of Picassos they sent us. Picassos in suburbia, Picassos meeting the Art Institute lion, Picassos that looked like elephants and squirrels and even Big Bird from Sesame Street. Who would have thought there were so many ways of seeing a sculpture?
On July 13, Tribune art critic Alan Artner, Chicago artist Ed Paschke and Art Institute Director Jim Wood spent more than an hour appraising the entries with their expert eyes.
The winners they selected are reproduced on the cover today. Some of the other finalists are among the drawings reproduced here. (We also asked for photographs from adults, but because we received very few, they are not being reproduced.)
First prize (and $100) goes to Rachel Aufischer, 8, of Chicago. K.C. Frye, 8, of Barrington, receives the $50 second prize and Angelo Hopkins, of Chicago, who is 13 now but was 12 when he drew his picture, receives the $25 third prize.
All of the entries are now on display in the east lobby of the Daley Civic Center, 50 W. Washington St. and will hang there through Friday. The building`s hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday.
The city`s birthday party for the sculpture will be 4:30 p.m. Friday in the Plaza.
William Hartmann, the architect who persuaded Picasso to design the sculpture, will be the guest of honor. But the real star of the show will be the sculpture itself, adorned for the occasion with a birthday hat designed by students in the city-sponsored arts project, Gallery 37. Cake and ice cream and other refreshments will be served and two United Airlines tickets will be given away.
A few blocks away, the Art Institute joins the celebration by putting Picasso`s original maquette on display in Gallery 235 on the second floor. It will remain there through August 30.
