Arguably, Breton's fame peaked posthumously in 1934 at The Chicago World's Fair. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt unveiled "The Song of the Lark" as the winner of the Chicago Daily News contest to find the "most beloved work of art in America". Further, she declared the painting as being her personal favorite painting. "At this moment "The Song of the Lark" had come to represent the popular American artistic taste on a national level." Of course, since "The Song of the Lark" was recently given to the Art Institute of Chicago this particular work of Breton had an advantage over Breton works at other American museums. Breton, however, was not universally appreciated. The American art establishment of the 1930s considered works of Breton to be lowbrow and the director of the Art Institute of Chicago itself argued for the removal of the work from display. It was not until the later half of the twentieth century, that Breton's social realism became more respectable again.