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| Elzy Jay "Bill" Bird was born in Salt Lake City and lived in Midvale, Utah. He was an oil and opaque-watercolor painter, printmaker, designer, cartoonist, arts administrator, and architectural draftsman. He studied with Bessie Alice Bancroft (q.v.) at West Junior High, Salt Lake School District; with Cornelius Salisbury (q.v.) at West High School, Salt Lake City; with James T. Harwood (q.v.) and Jack Sears (q.v.) at the University of Utah (1929-31); at Chouinard School of Art, Los Angeles (1933). He wrote and illustrated children's books, including Ten Tall Tales (1985), and held positions such as animation artist at Walt Disney Studios (1933); artist for several government projects—PWAP/FERA/WPA/FAP—(1933-1942); director for the Utah Federal Art Project (1937-42); member of the U.S. Army Engineers (1942-46); an architectural designer-draftsman for FFKR and other architects in Salt Lake City (1947-78). In 1939, Bird's critically acclaimed watercolor Takin' Five was shown at the New York World's Fair. Then in 1940, Bird's genre piece The Gossips, an admirable example of American scene painting, was exhibited in a show of regionalist painters, with a Thomas Hart Benton on one side and a Grant Wood on the other. In 1997, a series of pen-and-ink drawings of his youth were shown at the Springville Museum of Art and a major solo exhibition with color catalog in January. |
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At the Bar, San Francisco No. 40 |
| Bird, Elzy J. "Bill" |
| (1944) |
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Autumn Trees by the Creek |
| Bird, Elzy J. "Bill" |
| (1934) |
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Backyards in Bountiful |
| Bird, Elzy J. "Bill" |
| (1937) |
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Boy Riding Horse |
| Bird, Elzy J. "Bill" |
| (1998) |
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Chow Line, Rain Day, Springfield MO No. 15 |
| Bird, Elzy J. "Bill" |
| (1943) |
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City Creek, 2 September 1934 |
| Bird, Elzy J. "Bill" |
| (1934) |
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Colorado River---Near Moab, Utah |
| Bird, Elzy J. "Bill" |
| (1937) |
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Dancing at the U.S.O Springfield, MO No. 2 |
| Bird, Elzy J. "Bill" |
| (1943) |
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Dancing U.S.O., Springfield MO No. 4 |
| Bird, Elzy J. "Bill" |
| (1943) |
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Dancing, U.S.O. Springfield MO No. 1 |
| Bird, Elzy J. "Bill" |
| (1943) |
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Expensive Night, Springfield MO No. 20 |
| Bird, Elzy J. "Bill" |
| (1943) |
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Fast Talker, Springfield MO No. 19 |
| Bird, Elzy J. "Bill" |
| (1943) |
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Floozies, Train Station No. 11 |
| Bird, Elzy J. "Bill" |
| (1943) |
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How Do Bears Sleep (9 individual drawings) |
| Bird, Elzy J. "Bill" |
| (1990) |
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Hyde Street Trolley, San Francisco No. 43 |
| Bird, Elzy J. "Bill" |
| (1944) |
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I. E. Shima, Fancy Pants No. 79 |
| Bird, Elzy J. "Bill" |
| (1945) |
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I. E. Shima, Some Ride, but Most Carry No. 57 |
| Bird, Elzy J. "Bill" |
| (1945) |
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I. E. Shima, The Kids get Tired No. 67 |
| Bird, Elzy J. "Bill" |
| (1945) |
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I. E. Shima, The Mud is Deep No. 61 |
| Bird, Elzy J. "Bill" |
| (1945) |
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I. E. Shima, The War's Been Here No. 84 |
| Bird, Elzy J. "Bill" |
| (1945) |
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I. E. Shima, The Way is Hard No. 58 |
| Bird, Elzy J. "Bill" |
| (1945) |
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I. E. Shima, To a New Home No. 62 |
| Bird, Elzy J. "Bill" |
| (1945) |
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Indian Attack on Pioneer Wagon |
| Bird, Elzy J. "Bill" |
| (1933) |
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Last Moments, Bus Station, Springfield, MO No. 12 |
| Bird, Elzy J. "Bill" |
| (1943) |
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Mill Creek-Autumn Morning #1 |
| Bird, Elzy J. "Bill" |
| (1934) |
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Millcreek |
| Bird, Elzy J. "Bill" |
| (1941) |
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Millcreek, Salt Lake County |
| Bird, Elzy J. "Bill" |
| (1937) |
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Mt. Olympus |
| Bird, Elzy J. "Bill" |
| (1935) |
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Near Millcreek Road |
| Bird, Elzy J. "Bill" |
| (1936) |
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Near Vine St. & 9th E. |
| Bird, Elzy J. "Bill" |
| (1936) |
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Newspaperman on Corner, San Francisco No. 31 |
| Bird, Elzy J. "Bill" |
| (1944) |
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Odd Man Out, Springfield MO No. 29 |
| Bird, Elzy J. "Bill" |
| (1943) |
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Okinawa Internment Camp, I. E. Shima, They made them wash with gasoline |
| Bird, Elzy J. "Bill" |
| (1945) |
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Okinawa, Horse and Cart No. 88 |
| Bird, Elzy J. "Bill" |
| (1945) |
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Okinawa, Small Fry No. 82 |
| Bird, Elzy J. "Bill" |
| (1945) |
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Okinawa, Some Have Shoes No. 80 |
| Bird, Elzy J. "Bill" |
| (1945) |
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Okinawa, They Carry Heavy Loads No. 76 |
| Bird, Elzy J. "Bill" |
| (1945) |
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Okinawa, Where Are You Going Mother? No. 83 |
| Bird, Elzy J. "Bill" |
| (1945) |
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Old Barn |
| Bird, Elzy J. "Bill" |
| (1933) |
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Park City |
| Bird, Elzy J. "Bill" |
| (1936) |
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Pick-Up on Market Street, San Francisco No. 47 |
| Bird, Elzy J. "Bill" |
| (1944) |
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Pony Express |
| Bird, Elzy J. "Bill" |
| (1933) |
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Portrait of Jack Sears |
| Bird, Elzy J. "Bill" |
| (1930) |
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Red Cabbages |
| Bird, Elzy J. "Bill" |
| (1936) |
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Reservation Near Santa Clara - Ut. |
| Bird, Elzy J. "Bill" |
| (1937) |
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Some Lost Everything, I. E. Shima No. 54 |
| Bird, Elzy J. "Bill" |
| (1945) |
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Studies from My Youth [set of 20 drawings] |
| Bird, Elzy J. "Bill" |
| (1997) |
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Takin Five |
| Bird, Elzy J. "Bill" |
| (1938) |
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The Big Spender, San Francisco No. 36 |
| Bird, Elzy J. "Bill" |
| (1944) |
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The Gossips |
| Bird, Elzy J. "Bill" |
| (1940) |
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The Pickup, Springfield MO No. 18 |
| Bird, Elzy J. "Bill" |
| (1943) |
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The Prospector |
| Bird, Elzy J. "Bill" |
| (1933) |
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Vegetable Cart in Rain, San Francisco No.48 |
| Bird, Elzy J. "Bill" |
| (1944) |
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Wartime on Market Street, San Francisco No. 42 |
| Bird, Elzy J. "Bill" |
| (1944) |
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