In Dead White, I mention that a copy of Harvey Dunn's The Prairie Is My Garden hangs on the kitchen wall at 22 Okerlund Road. And probably in many other places in the Dakotas.
Harvey Dunn was born near Manchester, South Dakota, in 1884. He attended what was to become South Dakota State University, where he was encouraged by an enthusiastic teacher to enroll in the Chicago Art Institute. He eventually settled in New Jersey, becoming a successful illustrator and teacher.
His prairie works, which are primarily what he is now known for, were done later in his life, long after he left the prairie of his birth. He didn't display them publicly until 1950 at an exhibit in De Smet, South Dakota. The response was gratifying enough that he decided to donate the paintings to the state of South Dakota.
The original painting of The Prairie Is My Garden is now housed at the South Dakota Art Museum in Brookings, along with many others of Dunn's best known works.
One of my favorite quotes of Dunn's: "Paint a little less of the facts and a little more of the spirit."
Harvey Dunn was born near Manchester, South Dakota, in 1884. He attended what was to become South Dakota State University, where he was encouraged by an enthusiastic teacher to enroll in the Chicago Art Institute. He eventually settled in New Jersey, becoming a successful illustrator and teacher.
His prairie works, which are primarily what he is now known for, were done later in his life, long after he left the prairie of his birth. He didn't display them publicly until 1950 at an exhibit in De Smet, South Dakota. The response was gratifying enough that he decided to donate the paintings to the state of South Dakota.
The original painting of The Prairie Is My Garden is now housed at the South Dakota Art Museum in Brookings, along with many others of Dunn's best known works.
One of my favorite quotes of Dunn's: "Paint a little less of the facts and a little more of the spirit."
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