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Lillian Colton 1911-2007

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"Seed Queen: The Story of Crop Art and the Amazing Lillian Colton," by Colleen Sheehy, with a forward by Karal A. Marling. A 128-page hardcover book published by the Minnesota Historical Society, it features many full-color photos of Lillian's art. Available now at bookstores and through Amazon.com.

Lillian Colton's Competition Crop Art (1966-1983) Colton was the crop artist at the Minnesota State Fair. She started entering Crop Art in 1966 and after winning nine best-of-show Purple ribbons in eleven years she decided to let others have a chance at winning ribbons and she stopped competing. Here is some of her work from her ribbon-winning years.

Parrot 1967	Richard Nixon 1969	Ernest Hemmingway 1970	Christ 1971	Abraham Lincoln 1973
Barbra Streisand 1974	Racoon 1974	Grandma Moses 1975	Eagle and Flag 1976	George Washington 1976
Zebra 1976	Charles Lindbergh 1977	Billy Graham 1978	Lion and Cub 1979	Franklin D. Roosevelt 1982
Bald Eagle 1982	Northwestern National Bank 1982	Willie Nelson 1983

Lillian Colton's Crop Art (1984-2006) After leaving the Minnesota State Fair Crop Art competition in 1984, Lillian Colton continued to be a part of the Fair's Crop Art exhibit, with her own show of at least 50 of her seed art pictures. She was there almost every day of the Fair, demonstrating crop art techniques to fairgoers. After her death at 95 in 2007, her crop artist daughter Linda Paulsen took over her mother's role at the Fair. Here is a sample of Lillian's post-competition work.

Kirby Pucket 1984	Marty Robbins 1984	We Are The World 1985	Gary Morris 1986	Bob Hope 1987
Albert Einstein 1987	Garrison Keillor 1987	George H.W. Bush 1987	Joe Garaiola 1987	Kenny Rogers 1987
Oprah Winfrey 1987	Prince 1987	He's Got The Whole World In His Hands 1988	David Letterman 1989	Shirley Temple 1989
Danny Thomas 1990	Buster 1991	Ray Stevens 1991	Andy Warhol 1992	Elvis Presley 1994
Bill Cosby 1995	Amelia Earhart 1996	Bill Clinton 1996	Rosie O'Donnell 1996	Sherlock Holmes 1996
Buster Keaton 1997	Loon 1997	Princess Diana 1998	Guy Penrod 1999	Gov. Jesse Ventura 1999
Rebecca Kolls 1999	Fred Astaire 2004	Chet Atkins 2004	Hugh Bennett 2004	Johnny Cash 2004
Bing Crosby 2004	Judy Garland 2004	Self Portrait 2004	Hubert H. Humphrey 2004	Peter Jennings 2004
Craig Kilborn 2004	Bette Midler 2004	Eleanor Roosevelt 2004	Johnny Carson 2005	Nat King Cole 2005
Elvis Presley 2005	Eagle from Presidential Seal 2005	Mother Teresa 2005	Dan Rather 2005	Ronald Reagan 2005
Will Rogers 2005	B.B. King 2006	Hen and Chicks 2006	Hummingbirds 2006	Loon 2006
Still Life 1 2006	Still Life 2 2006
Lillian Colton obituaries.

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Seed by Seed: Crop Art of the Minnesota State Fair
By Kathy Berdan
The Walker Reader, August 2024

A Mona Lisa made of seeds: the quirky craft of crop art
By Colony Little
The Guardian, U.S. Edition, October 20, 2023

Images on this page ©1966-2007 copyright by Lillian Colton. Crop Art web site ©2007 copyright cropart.com Use of these images without permission is prohibited. Questions or comments? Write to cropart@cropart.com.