From the mixed-up files of Scholastic

Anne Sparkman  //  Nov 8, 2013

From the mixed-up files of Scholastic

Forgive my Friday morning pun but I couldn't help myself. Not only do I love the classic book From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler but I love a recent discovery made here at work. You really never know what you may find when you work with a program which has a history spanning over 90 years.

The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards has some powerful milestones and many of them come with great stories. For example, discovering this photo of Andy Warhol wearing his Gold Key was pretty amazing. And continuing the Warhol story, his grandniece won a Silver Key this year AND the Art.Write.Now Tour of traveling student works is going to be in the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh this February.  Pretty awesome. 

I have a new story for you. Scholastic, also more than 90 years old, has lots of packed away files in our offices and a literal archive. To our surprise, some recent file reorganization led us to an unexpected discovery.  A box of slides featuring individual winning student art of Scholastic Art & Writing Awards from the 1940s!!!  In it, we found beautiful pieces confirming what we've always known: teens are crazy talented. And to our surprise, Robert Clark's winning work (shown in this post) was among the pieces. You may not know that name right away but that's because when he became a well-known for his LOVE sculpture, he was already going by Robert Indiana. Again, pretty awesome.

We’re always looking for more stories. If you’re an alum of the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, don’t be shy.  Share your memories with us. And if you are an aspiring teen artist or writer, don’t forget to submit to the Awards this year to join this impressive legacy.