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Jul. 21--WINONA -- What backers say is one of the nation's top museums of marine art is set to open to the public Thursday on the shore of Winona's commercial harbor, about 1,500 miles from an ocean.
The Minnesota Marine Art Museum will include works of art from as near as the Mississippi River that flows outside the museum's front door and as far as the Atlantic Ocean. Artists range from the 16th century to contemporary.
But all the art deals with water.
The idea for the museum arose only three years ago when the Corps of Engineers announced it would retire the dredge William A. Thompson. Some Winona residents didn't want it to be scrapped, so they began looking for ways to use it as a marine art museum. The concept expanded into a 16,000-square foot facility.
At a media preview, members of the museum's staff and board of directors lauded what they see as a world-class marine museum. Bud Baechler, chairman of the board of the private foundation that will operate the museum, said it will be the second best in the country, behind only the Peabody at Yale University.
"This is not a secret in the marine art world," he said. "It's quite the buzz."
The hope is that it will be a centerpiece for tourism in the Winona area, said Winona Mayor Jerry Miller. He hopes it will draw people from as far away as the East Coast. It will also be a great place for those visiting Mayo Clinic in Rochester to spend an afternoon, he said.
Executive Director Danielle Benden said she expects 20,000 or more visitors annually and hopes that eventually, admission will be free. It will not only offer three major art collections but also will rotate parts of the collections (most of the works are in storage) and bring in visiting works. It will have educational programs, folk festivals and hands-on exhibits.
From a tourism side, Benden said the museum will be another attraction for the region. The museum, several theaters, a carousel, trails and the Mississippi within 30 miles of Winona add up to enough to keep people for more than a day, Benden said.
Go & Do
What: Minnesota Marine Art Museum ribbon-cutting.
Where: 800 Riverview Drive, Winona.
When: 10 a.m. July 27
Admission: Free for those 3 and under, $3 for ages 4-6, $6 for students, $9 for adults.
Web: www.minnesotamarineart.org.
What you'll see
-- The Burrichter-Kierlin Marine Art Collection will display about 75 of its 350 pieces of art. It is considered one of the country's finest private collections of marine art. Owners are Mary Burrichter and Robert Kierlin of Winona.
-- Leo and Marilyn Smith Folk Art works, with more than 400 pieces. The Fountain City couple makes Mississippi River-themed art. Leo Smith carves them, and Marilyn Smith paints them.
-- Scores of prints of works of Henry Bosse, a famed photographer who documented the Mississippi between St. Paul and central Iowa in the late 1800s.
-- Outside, the dredge William A. Thompson, which began dredging the Mississippi in the 1930s, will be on display after it's decommissioned by the Corps of Engineers in 2008.
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Copyright (c) 2006, Post-Bulletin, Rochester, Minn.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.
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