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Milner Library

Art and Artifacts Collections

Illustration of rolling hills covered by corn fields

Illinois State University is home to a rich array of material culture spanning centuries, continents, and creative traditions. From hands-on teaching collections and children’s artwork gathered from around the world to rare prints, historic posters, and unique personal archives, these digital collections demonstrate the power of art to educate and inspire.

Explore Digitized Collections

  • photo of a red oni mask

    Ethnology Teaching Collection

    When Illinois State University’s museums closed in 1991, the Department of Sociology and Anthropology took custody of their extensive ethnographic collections and continued using them for hands-on instruction. Today, many of these everyday objects from cultures around the globe are available for users to engage with online.

  • illustration of 8 dancers in colorful clothing

    International Collection of Child Art

    Emeritus faculty member F. Louis Hoover donated some 3,000 pieces of children’s artwork to Illinois State University upon its establishment of the Ewing Museum of Nations in 1969. In later decades curator Barry Moore partnered with organizations like UNICEF and the Christian Children's Fund to collect thousands more pieces from over thirty countries.

  • two wooden dolls

    Lois Lenski
    Doll Collection

    A prolific author and illustrator of children’s books, Lois Lenski (1893-1974) was also an avid doll collector. She and her son Stephen Covey donated this collection to Milner Library over a period of decades along with many of her research scrapbooks and original book illustrations.

  • photo of ceramic plate from Niiyama collection

    Niiyama Poetic Japanese Pottery

    Japanese artist Mitsuya Niiyama (1922-2013) created these one hundred ceramic pieces as interpretations of the poems of the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu between approximately 1958 and 1968.

  • illustration of twisted bridge

    Normal Editions
    Archive

    Founded in 1976, Normal Editions is a printmaking research facility in the Wonsook Kim College of Fine Arts where visiting artists and faculty members partner with students studying fine art printing to produce original limited edition works of art.

  • black and white print of two children

    Early Modern Prints

    This teaching collection explores the early history of printmaking through book illustrations and other artwork. Dating from the incunable era to the dawn of the industrial revolution, these prints were created using a range of techniques, including woodcut, engraving, and etching.

  • postcard depicting an illustration of a large ship on open water

    Ward Family Postcards

    The Flying Wards were a Bloomington, Illinois-based aerial act playing circuses, parks, fairs, and vaudeville stages across America from about 1903 into the 1930s. This collection offers a peek into Eddie and Jennie Ward's travels as they collected postcards at their destinations and sent short updates home to family members.

  • illustration of a woman holding a plane in one hand and a bomb in the other

    World War I Posters

    During the United States’ short involvement in World War I, federal agencies and supporting organizations produced propaganda posters to inform the public and rally national support. With bold imagery and compelling slogans, they turned walls and storefronts into calls to action, encouraging Americans to purchase war bonds, conserve resources, and contribute to the fight abroad.

  • illustration of a soldier weilding a rifle with bayonet and welders in the background and text 'Let's all fight'

    World War II-Era Posters and Propaganda

    These posters and other propaganda pieces demonstrate how government agencies and organizations across the globe used visual media to influence public opinion and control behavior during the Nazi era, Second Sino-Japanese War, and World War II.

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