Natalie S. Henry and Rowena Fry papers
name: label: Creator
content: Fry, Rowena, 1901-
label: Creator
content: Henry, Natalie S. (Natalie Smith), 1907-1992
label: Names
content: United States. Department of the Treasury. Section of Fine Arts
label: Names
content: Ropp, Hubert, 1894-1973
topic: label: Occupation
content: Painters -- Illinois -- Chicago
label: Occupation
content: Muralists -- Illinois -- Chicago
label: Topic
content: Art -- Illinois -- Chicago
label: Topic
content: Federal aid to the arts
label: Topic
content: Women artists
label: Topic
content: Women painters
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Donated 1989 by Natalie S. Henry.
creator: label: Creator
content: Fry, Rowena, 1901-
label: Creator
content: Henry, Natalie S. (Natalie Smith), 1907-1992
setName: label: See more items in
content: Natalie S. Henry and Rowena Fry papers
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Natalie Henry (1907-1992) was a muralist active in Chicago, Illinois. Rowena Fry (1892-1990) was a painter and educator active in Chicago, Illinois. 

Natalie Henry was best known for her post office murals completed under the United States Department of the Treasury. She managed the art supply store at the Art Institute of Chicago from 1948 until her retirement in 1972. Fry was born in Alabama and moved to Chicago in 1923 to study at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. 

Henry and Fry attended the Hubert Ropp School of Art. Both exhibited regularly at the Chicago Society of Artists and the Art Institute of Chicago during the 1930s and 1940s. Henry and Fry shared an apartment in the Lambert Tree Studios Building from 1948 until moving back to their respective family homes in Arkansas and Tennessee in the 1980s. In 1989, Fry joined Henry in her home in Malvern, Arkansas.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 0.5 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1927-1987
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.henrnata
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: Due to the small size of this collection the papers are arranged as one series.
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was processed, and a finding aid prepared by Jayna Josefson in 2022.
altformavail: label: Reproduction Note
content: About half of this collection consists of photocopies.
originalsloc: label: Existence and Location of Originals
content: Originals in the possession of Natalie S. Henry.
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: Biographical material assembled by Henry on herself (1929-1987) and Rowena Fry (1927-1987) consists of brief typescripts, letters, clippings, exhibition catalogs, samples of Christmas cards designed by Henry and Fry, a print "Bird's Tree in Winter" by Henry (1968), and photographs of works of art. The material emphasizes Henry's mural for the Springdale, Arkansas post office, commisssioned for the Section of Fine Arts, and her work for the Oscar Mayer Company. A subject file contains clippings (1958-1987) concerning Hubert Ropp, Dean of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, who had a great influence on the careers of Henry and Fry.