A Norman Rockwell painting and more than 100 other works of art hidden inside Draper Elementary School will be open to the public for the first time on Wednesday, Nov. 18.

Canyons School District and the Draper Visual Arts Foundation are hosting the free "Art @ Draper Elementary Public Tour" from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at the school, 1080 E. 12660 South. Foundation board members will answer questions and offer background on the pieces, the Draper Journal reported.

The collection includes original paintings, prints and sculptures lining the hallways and school library. Until now, visitors had to schedule an appointment with the front office to see any of it.

Former Draper mayor Darrell Smith, a foundation board member, called the collection Draper's best-kept secret, according to the Draper Journal. Student security at the elementary school made public access difficult for years.

Susan Edwards, public engagement coordinator for Canyons School District, said her team spent months researching each work and creating informational placards. The team also built a detailed web page about the collection and a virtual audio tour.

"We wanted to get it open to the community," Edwards told the Draper Journal. "This is the first step to let people in to see it."

The tour coincides with the collection's centennial roots. Sources differ on the exact start date. The Draper Visual Arts Foundation says the first painting was purchased in 1926, while the district's collection page lists the first purchase in 1928. Both accounts credit Reid Beck, who served as principal of Draper School from 1917 until his death in 1943, with launching the effort.

Beck asked teachers and students to help bring art into what was then a farm community school. Children donated pennies, nickels and dimes to buy paintings, according to the foundation. The practice continued for years, even during the Great Depression.

The collection's centerpiece is a Norman Rockwell painting of "Ichabod Crane," purchased in 1953. When Rockwell learned that children wanted to buy his painting, he lowered his asking price from $1,200 to $800, according to the foundation. Junior high students still had to organize extra fundraising to cover the cost.

The collection also features works by Utah artists Florence Ware, Cornelius Salisbury and Lee Greene Richards, along with a mountain scene by Bob Ross.

The Draper Visual Arts Foundation was founded by three former school teachers who recognized the need to preserve the collection. Co-founder Jean Hendricksen compiled binders of research on the art that Edwards' team used while preparing for the tour.

Foundation board member Jenny Haase told the Draper Journal the collection carries a rich history that many people are unaware of.

The Nov. 18 tour is free. Donations to the Draper Elementary Art Collection and the Draper Visual Arts Foundation are accepted. The district has not announced additional public tour dates.