In 1898 a group of artists and educators from the Chicago Art Institute, led by the eminent sculptor, Lorado Taft, founded the Eagles Nest Art Colony on the bluff high above the Rock River in Oregon, Illinois. The group was seeking a beautiful, cool, quiet inspirational place to take their families to escape the ugly, hot, noisy congestion of the growing metropolis of Chicago. Each summer for 44 years the artists returned to the Eagles' Nest Art Colony not only to create art, but also to share it with the community they had grown to love. Thus Oregon inherited a tradition of art and sculpture in the midst of a thriving farming community.
On the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Eagles' Nest Art Colony, a group of local artists and interested community leaders joined forces for the purpose of continuing the artistic heritage embodied by the original colony. They conceived of a mission to "Bring Art and Agriculture Together", and organized the 501(c) 3 not-for-profit Fields Project Inc. to make their mission possible. Click here for more information on our history and detail on the Fields Project, Inc.
Today, beginning on the Saturday before Fathers Day, The Fields Project provides the opportunity for Visiting Artists to spend nine days with local farm families to create art. The Sunday following Fathers Day, the Visiting Artists join our Regional Artists for the Art Fair to not only display their works, but offer them for sale. Additionally a Sculpture Competition is held and the winning artist will have a life size bronze displayed in the Oregon community.
