Draper's "Ichabod Crane" last was appraised at $150,000, said district fine arts consultant Doug Allen, who is working on an inventory and appraisals of district art. That was 14 years ago. "They usually appreciate," he said.

Most schools have a couple of pieces of art, be it student art, a commissioned bronze or mural of the school's mascot, Allen said.

But by 1955, Draper students had amassed 63 works, according to the Draper Visual Arts Foundation. Visiting alumni of the 111-year-old school like to point out the ones they bought, Baker said.

Teachers use the school's art gallery to teach about perspective, balance and movement, Baker said.

The Rockwell is perhaps the most high-profile work — a former principal said he'd take it off his office wall to store it at night, Baker said — but it's just as much a kids' favorite as the abstract around the corner and the horse painting down the hall, to which one student likes to blow kisses.

Baker says that, as she understands it, the kid-bought art is to never leave the school.

"Think of the dedication of the children and community to earn that money (for art), and during the Depression, during World War II. It's incredible to me," Baker said. "(Today) there's still that tie, in a day when we have disposable everything."

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E-mail: jtcook@desnews.com

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