GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) - There was no time off for the winner of the $250,000 grand prize at ArtPrize in Grand Rapids.
Chris LaPorte was back in the classroom Friday at Aquinas College, giving a drawing lesson to high school students. The Grand Rapids Press says he offered homemade cookies and told the kids, "You probably heard about what happened."
On Thursday night, LaPorte was declared the winner of ArtPrize for his drawing, titled "Cavalry, American Officers, 1921." It is 8 feet tall and 28 feet wide.
LaPorte's art was done in pencil. The Bay City native spent 800 hours and more than eight months on the project.
LaPorte says he was inspired by a photo shot in 1921 at Camp Grant, near Rockford, Ill. "Cavalry" will be displayed through the end of the year at the Grand Rapids Art Museum.
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