'Cool Breezes' exhibit starts Monday

The patriotic fan (left) was distributed by Shulton Inc. in the 1940's. It is cardstock, with a metal rivet. It belongs to a private collector. (ExhibitsUSA)

The Museum of the High Plains in downtown McCook will host an "ExhibitsUSA" display of handheld fans from July 5 through Aug. 6.

The exhibit is called, "Cool Breezes: Handheld Fans in 20th-Century American Folk Art, Fashion and Advertising." It introduces visitors to the world of handheld fans and to the roles that fans played in the everyday lives of Americans in the days before air conditioning.

"Cool Breezes" explores fans as common objects in American popular culture, and presents a wide range of fan genres, from sturdy folding fans built for daily use, to fragile and elaborately-decorated fans that served as fashion accessories and flirtation tools.

"Cool Breezes" also explores fans as part of a visually-rich design tradition and as a guide to advertising and cultural developments in 20th-century America. A brief history of fans, beginning with Asian and European traditions, explains the evolution of American fans.

"Cool Breezes" is organized and toured by ExhibitsUSA, which strives to create access to an array of arts and humanities exhibitions, nurture the development and understanding of diverse art forms and culture, and encourage the expanding depth and breadth of cultural life.

ExhibitsUSA is supported by Altria Group Inc., the Brown Foundation Inc., ConocoPhillips, Maureen and Robert Decherd, Douglas County Bank/Ross and Marianna Beach, DST Systems Inc., the Don and Sybil Harrington Foundation, Houston Endowment Inc., the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the Helen Jones Endowment, the William T. Kemper Foundation, Commerce Bank/trustee, the Richard P. Kimmel and Laurine Kimmel Charitable Foundation Inc., the Meadows Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation and the state arts agencies of Nebraska, Kansas, Illinois, Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas.