An original painting of the California State Building from the 1893 World’s Fair sold at auction for $2,800 on June 25, 2021.

The 9.75-by-13.5-inch, unframed oil on canvas features the second largest state building (after that of Illinois) on the Columbian Exposition fairgrounds. Artist William Woodward (1859–1939), who served on the planning commission for his home state of Louisiana, depicted with impressionist flair a crowd passing in front the Mission Revival style building designed by architect A. Page Brown.

William Woodward’s painting California State Building, World’s Columbian Exposition, Chicago, IL (1893). [Image from Neal Auction Company.]