Orson Welles purportedly used a set of this artist’s best-known works to illustrate his concept of the “magic box” and as a reference for his lighting of Citizen Kane and The Magnificent Ambersons. For 10 points each:
[10h] Name this American artist who was the creative and financial force behind nearly 100 miniature rooms, 68 of which are now exhibited in the lower level of the Art Institute of Chicago.
ANSWER: Narcissa Nisblack Thorne [or Narcissa Ward Thorne; accept Thorne miniature rooms]
[10m] Viewers often point out Thorne’s inaccurate use of wallpaper patterned with these objects for her New Mexico Dining Room. A person with an enormous right foot sits pensively next to one of these objects in Tarsila do Amaral’s Abaporu.
ANSWER: cactuses [or cacti; accept saguaro cactuses; prompt on plants or succulents] (Saguaro cactuses are native to Arizona, not New Mexico.)
[10e] Thorne commissioned John Storrs and Hildreth Meière to create tiny sculptures and murals in this 1920s style for her rooms, whose scale contrasts with the huge skyscrapers in this style like the Chrysler Building.
ANSWER: Art Deco
<Ani Perumalla, Visual Fine Arts>