For Immediate Release
July 10, 2004
Art Tribute Celebrates Anthony Downs Centennial
Anthony, Kan. -- An art tribute to Anthony Downs celebration of their centennial horse and greyhound racing event this year will be unveiled Friday July 16; 5:30 pm at Anthony Downs according to Dan Bird, Anthony Fair president.
The montage art features vignettes from the 100 year history of Anthony’s premier summer event. Included in the art are the current Anthony Downs racing events along with vintage looks into the past, including harness and automobile racing that were part of Anthony Down’s features in the early days.
This spring, Bird commissioned the art from an Anthony native, Ted Watts, the nationally renowned sports artist now from Oswego, KS. His parents, Bill and Rita Watts, reside at 124 N. Franklin.
Watts is best known locally for the University of Kansas Hall of Fame portrait collection in Allen Fieldhouse on the Lawrence campus; a baseball mural on the concourse of Wichita State University’s Eck Stadium; and a series of all Heisman Trophy Winners exhibited in the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, IN.
Reproductions of the art are available at Anthony Downs or by contacting the Anthony Fair Association, Anthony Downs, P.O. Box 444, Anthony, Kansas 67003 or call Dan Bird 620-842-3796.