# @fineartsbuilding on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DJ2SL1-s35k
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/30812363-fineartsbuilding-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/999a311387.jpg
- **Posted:** 2025-05-19T20:15:08.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** The Fine Arts Building (@fineartsbuilding) — https://gondola.cc/fineartsbuilding

## Caption

This week, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz celebrates its 125th anniversary! It was originally published May 17, 1900. Did you know that the iconic illustrations of this classic story were done in the Fine Arts Building? William W. Denslow, the book's illustrator, held a studio on the 10th floor from 1898 - 1901. Denslow met L. Frank Baum at the Caxton Club, a literary organization also headquartered in the Fine Arts Building.

Denslow's first collaboration with Baum was a children's picture book titled Father Goose: His Book, the publication of which they self-financed. The book went on to become the best-selling children's book of 1899, with five printings that year alone totaling over seventy-five thousand copies.

The success of Father Goose: His Book led to the pair's timeless collaboration on The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Denslow's illustrations in particular were praised for bringing Baum's colorful characters to life. His memorable designs are an integral part of how the world of Oz has stayed in the world’s cultural imagination through print, stage, and screen for generations.

Denslow's work was a significant influence on American children's books, and his iconic style set the standard for illustration in the 20th century.

 #fineartsbuilding #fineartsbuildingchicago #chicagohistory #wizardofoz #wizardofoz #wonderfulwizardofoz #childrensbooks #childrensbook #childrensbookillustration #childrensbook_art #childrensbookillustrator #childrensbookillustrations

## Stats

- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 117
- **Shares:** 0
- **Comments:** 2

## Credits

| Name | Username | Profile | Role |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| The Fine Arts Building | @fineartsbuilding | https://gondola.cc/fineartsbuilding | Creative Director |

## Tags

childrensbookillustrations, childrensbook, fineartsbuilding, childrensbooks, chicagohistory, wizardofoz, fineartsbuildingchicago, childrensbookillustration, childrensbookillustrator, childrensbook_art, wonderfulwizardofoz

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