Carl Sandburg Portrait with Pictorial Collage

Tom Hill created this portrait of Carl Sandburg for the cover of the January 1953Chicago Tribune Magazine of Books. Inspired by Sandburg's autobiography,Always the Young Strangers, the portrait depicts scenes from Sandburg's boyhood in Galesburg, Illinois, the young "Charlie" with a group of friends called "The Dirty Dozen." The boys enjoyed playing baseball, hanging around the courthouse to hear trials, and playing music. They even served four hours in jail for skinny-dipping in an old brickyard pond. Sandburg's autobiography documented growing up in the late 19th century and captured the universal elements of childhood dreams, adventures, and fears.