Kansas Art History
with an emphasis on representational art
Introduction
This section of the Traditional Fine Arts Organization (TFAO) catalogue Topics in American Art is devoted to the topic "Kansas Art History." Articles and essays specific to this topic published in TFAO's Resource Library are listed at the beginning of the section. Clicking on titles takes readers directly to the articles and essays.
Following the links to Resource Library articles and essays are a listing of museums in the state which have provided materials to Resource Library for this or any other topic.
Listed after museums are links to online resources outside the TFAO website. Following these resources is information about offline resources including DVDs, paper-printed books, journals and articles. Our goal is to present complete knowledge relating to this section of Topics in American Art.
TFAO welcomes volunteers to further the broadening of knowledge related to this topic. To learn more about TFAO's many volunteer opportunities please click here. Volunteers are welcome to contribute suggestions for additional content in this catalogue. Please see Catalogue and database management for details.
Resource Library essays listed by author name in alphabetical order, followed by articles:
40 Years of the Prairie Water Color Painters by Cori Sherman North
Vanished Voices: The Legacy of Northeast Kansas Indians
We recommend that researchers always search within Resource Library for additional material. Please see TFAO's page How to research topics not listed for more information.
(above: Birger Sandzén (1871-1954), Creek at Moonrise, c. 1921, oil on canvas, 35.8 x 48 in. Brooklyn Museum, gift of Dr. and Mrs. Henry Goddard Leach. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
Museums and other non-profit sources of Resource Library articles and essays:
Birger Sandzén Memorial Gallery
Kansas State Historical Society
Spencer Museum of Art / University of Kansas
(above: Henry Varnum Poor (1887-1970), The Luncheon, 1913, oil on canvas, 36 x 48 in. Birger Sandzén Memorial Gallery. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons*)
Other online information:
"Art in Kansas has a long and varied history," by Denise Neil, March 13, 2011, The Wichita Eagle. Accessed August, 2015.
Artists from Kansas, from Kansas Historical Society. Includes biographies and list of well known Kansas Artists. Accessed May, 2015.
Artists from Kansas in Wikipedia. Accessed August, 2015.
Biographical Dictionary of Kansas Artists (active before 1945) by Craig, Susan V., issued in 2006; from KU ScholarWorks. Accessed August, 2015.
Embracing Nature, an exhibit held September 9 through October 19, 2014 at the Birger Sandzén Memorial Gallery. Includes exhibit catalog. Accessed May, 2015
The Halcyon Daze of the 'Borg: a photographic memoir by Ray Troll of Ketchikan, Alaska is a 2021 exhibit at the Birger Sandzén Memorial Gallery in which the artist says: "As we age and lose people around us, facing our own mortality, I think of the adage that the closer you are to becoming history yourself, the more you appreciate history. I felt the urgency to share this body of work to commemorate their memories. I also want to acknowledge how much my time in Kansas transformed my own artistic DNA and the roots of my artistic style." Accessed 12/21
In the Center of It All: Prairie Print Maker 90th anniversary exhibition is a 2020 exhibit at the Birger Sandzén Memorial Gallery in which Ron Michael, Director, says: The Prairie Print Makers started 90 years ago about a block from the Birger Sandzén Memorial Gallery -- in the studio of our namesake. They set lofty parameters on a very tight Depression- era budget and started with a core group of just eleven. From there, the group grew to over 100 members and gained national attention." Accessed 12/21
Kansas (sampling of artists and works connected to state) from askArt. Accessed August, 2015.
Kansas Artists from George Laughead. Accessed August, 2015.
Kansas State Capitol Artwork - from Kansas Historical Society. Accessed August, 2015.
Kansas State Capitol Murals - from Kansas Sampler Foundation. Accessed August, 2015.
Made to be Used: the Pottery of Ray Kahmeyer (1930-2007) is a 2020 exhibit at the Birger Sandzén Memorial Gallery in which Ron Michael, Sandzén Gallery Director, says: "His works are meant for everyday use, hence the exhibition title, but each still hold something special beyond that. They have a quality that's impossible to label or categorize. His "simple" pots reflect Ray's commitment to the craft of handwork, his fondness for rustic design, beauty, and nature. Ray was unique, inspiring, and generous, and I feel very fortunate to have known him." Accessed 12/2
No Mountains in the Way: Photographs from the Kansas Documentary Survey, 1974 is a 2016 exhibit at the Smithsonian American Art Museum which says: "In the 1970s, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) conceived a series of photo survey projects, inspired by the epic documentary photography program undertaken by the federal government in the 1930s and 1940s." Accessed 8/18
Prairie Print Makers, a Kansas artists' group founded in the 1930s from University of Kansas / Spencer Museum of Art. Accessed August, 2015.
Prairie Print Makers - 10 Charter Members from casewardprintmaker.com. Accessed August, 2015.
Printmaking in Kansas City: The Moffett Collection is a 2016-17 exhibit at the Albrecht-Kemper Museum of Art which says: "In the 1930s and '40s, printmaking enjoyed a new popularity across the nation, and Kansas City proved no exception. The Kansas City Art Institute's (KCAI) curriculum added print courses in lithography first under Ross Braught (1898-1983) around 1931 through 1935." Accessed 2/17
Sloyd Furniture: pyrography pieces by Birger Sandzén, Amalia Maria Rabenius and G. N. Malm is a 2019 exhibit at the Birger Sandzén Memorial Gallery for which Marlysue Holmquist says: " Amalia Maria Rabenius was hired in 1900 to teach in the Model School at Bethany College. More specifically, she started a new program in Sloyd, a curriculum of manual training that teaches the use of a sloyd knife to make a variety of structured projects, usually in wood." Accessed 12/21
Steve Scott is Steve Scott: paintings by former Lindsborg artist Steve Allan Scott (1947-2017) is a 2020 exhibit at the Birger Sandzén Memorial Gallery which says: "Scott earned art degrees first at Emporia State University (1969) and then an MFA from Wichita State University (WSU, 1972). His graduate school classmate Michael Jilg, now retired from the art department of Fort Hays State University, remembers that when they met Scott already had his signature style well established. He exclusively used Liquitex Acrylic Artist Colors mixed out of the tube for his paintings on canvas and paper, continuing the practice throughout his career. " Accessed 12/21
Wilbur Niewald: The Studio Portrait is a 2012 exhibit at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art which says: "Well known for his plein air painting, Niewald can often be found with easel and brushes at his favorite Kansas City locations, including Loose Park and Penn Valley Park. However, the artist has a long history of studio painting that includes both still lifes and portraits." Also see artist's website https://www.wilburniewald.com/ Accessed 2/19
Books, listed by year of publication, with most recently published book listed first:
Kansas Murals: A Traveler's Guide, by Lora Jost (Author), Dave Loewenstein (Author), Saralyn Reece Hardy (Foreword). 278 pages. Publisher: University Press of Kansas (October 3, 2006). ISBN-10: 0700614699. ISBN-13: 978-0700614691. Product Description: Travelers in Kansas in search of fine art needn't restrict themselves to the state's many excellent museums. They need look no further than the walls of their own communities to discover a remarkable array of murals--artistic creations that are striking, democratic, and easily accessible. Depicting Civil War history, the fruits of agriculture, Kansas' diverse cultural roots, and much more, these long-neglected works are now the subject of Lora Jost and Dave Loewenstein's fine new book. Jost and Loewenstein, artists themselves, have crisscrossed Kansas researching and documenting over 600 murals to promote, preserve, and celebrate this vibrant public art. Theirs is the first and only book devoted exclusively to Kansas murals--a striking visual travelogue that offers a new perspective on the state's culture and history. From unique small-town creations like Dennis Burghart's The Saga of the Santa Fe outside the Offerle Cafe to the world-famous John Steuart Curry painting of John Brown in the state capitol, murals constitute an enormous public art gallery. Some are socially compelling or were once the focus of intense controversy. Many are group projects in which artists have served as coordinators; these murals represent true expressions of their communities. All show the state as it has been seen through the eyes of Kansas artists over the past hundred years. The authors focus on ninety exemplary murals--including mosaics and friezes--organized by region and featuring full-color photographs, brief descriptions, and notes on the artists. From Sacred Heart Cathedral to the Early Childhood Education Center on the Potawatomi Prairie Band Reservation, the artworks selected represent some of the most enduring and powerful images to be found throughout the state. The book also provides regional locator maps for travelers and a list of all 600-plus murals with their locations. A unique resource that attests to the rich diversity of the mural tradition, this book is an open invitation to visit the open-air museum of Kansas murals and appreciate the stories they tell and their place in public life. They may be tucked into urban landscapes or require travel to out-of-the way locales; some may even be stained by years of exposure to the elements; but these expressions of public art are there for the viewing--and now, thanks to this book, there for the finding." (text courtesy of Amazon.com)
Beautifying Wichita Through Sculpture, By Chris Paulsen Polk, Inc. (Wichita Project Beauty, Kan). Published by Project Beauty, 1995. Google Books says: "Describes 170 pieces of outdoor sculpture including addresses."
Kansas Quilts and Quilters, by Barbara Brackman (Author), Jennie A. Chinn (Author), G. R. C. Davis (Contributor). 216 pages. Publisher: University Press of Kansas (September 1993). ISBN-10: 0700605843. ISBN-13: 978-0700605842. Product Description: "Mary Ellison came to Kansas in 1870, keeping house for her father and numerous siblings before raising her own family. By the age of 92, she estimated, she'd made more than three hundred quilts. Rose Kretsinger studied design at the turn of the century in Europe and at the Art Institute of Chicago. Quilts made from her award-winning designs are now in an art museum collection. Kay McFarland sold quilts to put herself through law school in the 1960s. Today she is the first woman on the Kansas Supreme Court. These three women, along with thousands of other Kansans from a variety of backgrounds, have pursued quiltmaking for economic and artistic purposes. The result of their efforts: a treasury of quilts, from plain to fancy, utilitarian to decorative. In 1986 the Kansas Quilt Project began an ambitious effort to find and document Kansas quilts. Aided by legions of volunteers, this group catalogued 13,107 quilts and quilt tops made in Kansas or brought to the state. From this cataloguing, from interviews with quilters and their descendants, and from extensive historical research, the six authors of this book have produced the first comprehensive discussion of quilts and quiltmaking in Kansas. They focus on specific types of quilts and fabrics, such as red-and-green appliqué quilts and conversation prints; regional and ethnic quiltmaking communities, including Mennonites, African-Americans, and an unusually prolific and talented group of quilters in Emporia a half-century ago; and present-day quilting groups. Featuring 165 photographs, 68 in full-color, this volume is a visually rich mosaic that illuminates the enduring community of quiltmakers in Kansas and chronicles its relation to the historical and cultural heritage of the state. This 9 x 6" book contains 99 color photographs, 4 black-and-white photographs, and 8 color maps." (text courtesy of Amazon.com)
The Prairie Print Makers, By Barbara Thompson O'Neill, George C. Foreman, Howard W. Ellington. Published by Kansas Arts Commission, 1981. ISBN 0960797807, 9780960797806
For the Sake of Art: The Story of an Art Movement in Kansas, By Cynthia Mines, Salvador Estrada. Published by Mines, 1979. 79 pages
Bethany in Kansas: The History of a College, By Emory Kempton Lindquist. Published by Bethany College, 1975. ISBN 0916030032, 9780916030032. 309 pages
The Kansas Portrait Index, By National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in the State of Kansas Historical Activities Committee, Published by Historical Activities Committee of the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America, 1970. 40 pages
Kansas: The First Century, edited by John D. Bright. Published by Lewis Historical Pub., 1956
Development of Art in Kansas, By Gertrude Dix Newlin. Published by s.n, 1951
Arts and Crafts in Kansas; Catalog of an exhibition held in Lawrence, University of Kansas, February, 1948
Kansas Art and Artists, By Florence Lydia Snow. Published by Watson Library, 1942
Articles:
Brett Beatty: "Regional Art from Kansas Public Schools" American Art Review March-April 2002 (Volume XIV, Number 2)
Edna Reinbach. "Kansas Art and Artists" Collections of the Kansas State Historical Society 17 (1926-1928) 371-85
Return to Individual States
Art History Project
Links to sources of information outside of our web site are provided only as referrals for your further consideration. Please use due diligence in judging the quality of information contained in these and all other web sites. Information from linked sources may be inaccurate or out of date. TFAO neither recommends or endorses these referenced organizations. Although TFAO includes links to other web sites, it takes no responsibility for the content or information contained on those other sites, nor exerts any editorial or other control over them. For more information on evaluating web pages see TFAO's General Resources section in Online Resources for Collectors and Students of Art History. Individual pages in this catalogue will be amended as TFAO adds content, corrects errors and reorganizes sections for improved readability. Refreshing or reloading pages enables readers to view the latest updates.
Search Resource Library for thousands of articles and
essays on American art.
Copyright 2009-2022 Traditional Fine Arts Organization, Inc., an Arizona nonprofit corporation. All rights reserved.