Artists and festival-goers brave the rain at Liberty Arts Festival – Shaw Local

Intermittent rain didn’t deter anyone in Morris on Saturday as crowds flocked to Liberty Street and the area around the Grundy County Courthouse for the 10th annual Liberty Arts Festival.

Dancers, musicians and artists entertained downtown, while even more artists painted and sold their artwork on the courthouse lawn. Further up Liberty Street, the Morris Area Public Library housed a rare art collection from a local collector. This collection included art by Salvador Dalí and Marc Chagall.

The collector spoke to the Morris Herald-News on condition of anonymity.

“Most of my pieces are, as they say, signed in pencil,” they said. “That means Salvador Dalí held this piece in his own hands and signed it with a pencil.”

The collector said the exhibition at the library was an opportunity for ordinary people to see up close the meticulous attention to detail these artists put into their work.

The Morris Watercolor Guild also celebrated the Liberty Arts Festival with an art show at the First United Methodist Church, 118 W. Jackson St., highlighting the work of artist Laurel Lake McGuire. Hundreds visited the show between rain showers.