To the Stars Through Art: A History of Art Collecting in Kansas Public Schools, 1900-1950
August 22, 2023 – May 11, 2024
In 1911 the school superintendent in McPherson, Kansas, organized an exhibition to acquire artwork for a new high school. This became an annual ticketed event, allowing the McPherson schools to establish a rich collection of works by regionally and nationally recognized artists, among them James Abbott McNeill Whistler, Birger Sandzén and Fern Coppedge.
Before the mid-century, schools in dozens of Kansas communities, including boarding schools for Indigenous students and segregated schools, joined McPherson in acquiring original art. To the Stars Through Art will feature more than sixty artworks by Blackbear Bosin, Norma Bassett Hall, Walter Ufer and other artists, from more than a dozen schools and history museums across the state.
A goal of the exhibition is to guide Kansas schools in caring for their collections and using art for educational enrichment. The exhibition is being organized by Curator Elizabeth Seaton in collaboration with regional scholars and museum curators.
Major Sponsors: Friends of the Beach Museum of Art, The Alms Group
Sustaining Sponsor: Humanities Kansas, a nonprofit cultural organization that connects communities with history, traditions, and ideas to strengthen civic life.
Media Sponsor: KANSAS! Magazine
Related events
The Sue Jean Covacevich Educators Conference
Inspiring Students Through Art Collecting
Saturday, November 4, 2023, 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m., Beach Museum of Art
An event for educators (K-12, college, museums). Some seats reserved for general public. Registration is required. Link to register is coming soon. Please stay tuned.
Best Practices for the Care of Art in Schools
Thursday, November 16, 2023, 5:30 p.m.
Livestream conversation with Nicole Grabow, director of preventive conservation at the Midwest Art Conservation Center, and Sarah Price, Beach Museum of Art Collections Manager. Free and open to the public.
Join the free program via Zoom. Click here to register. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with information about how to join the program.
Image: Ethel Spears, WPA Cutting Down a Tree, ca. 1938, Works Progress Administration Federal Art Project, Illinois, allocated to Topeka High School, opaque watercolor and graphite on paper, 2016.30