Murals at West are 'great asset'

By Travis Coleman

As the often-shared legend goes, Chuck Raymond was 4 years old when he massaged a ball of clay into the form of a face and proudly displayed it to his grandmother."

She saw that and said, 'That boy is going to be an artist all his life,'" said Grace Linden, curator of history at the Sioux City Public Museum. "It was a real-looking figure. They knew he had natural talent."

Raymond, a member of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, went on to brush his way into cultural history by becoming the most famous artist to come from the Winnebago tribe. And until his death in 1989, he taught many people about daily American Indian life along with creating sports scenes and portraits of well-known people."

He wanted to show people what they did, how they hunted and their families," Linden said.

Raymond's impact in Siouxland was part of the reason the Sioux City Community School District wanted to dispel rumors that four murals by him at West High School would be painted over when new artwork was created for the school this summer.

"These murals are a great asset to our school and community," said James Vanderloo, West High principal. "There has never been a discussion to move, alter or paint over this wonderful work."

Read more here: http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/articles/2007/07/11/news_living/local/8a8c19fea0f349a48625731500038163.txt