Carl Sandburg Portrait with Pictorial Collage
By Tom Hill

Hill painted this Sandburg surrounded by pictorial excerpts from his autobiography, Always the Young Strangers. Hill created it for the cover of the January 1953 Chicago Tribune Magazine of Books. It depicts scenes from Sandburg's boyhood in Galesburg, Illinois, the young "Charlie" with a group of friends called "The Dirty Dozen." The boys enjoyed playing baseball, hanging around the courthouse to hear the trials, and playing music. They even served four hours in jail for skinny-dipping in an old brickyard pond. Sandburg's autobiography documented growing up in the late 19th century and captured the universal elements of childhood dreams, adventures, and fears.
Paper. L 44.3, W. 37.0 cm
Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site, CARL 26796