13 Artworks Purchased for State Collection

The South Dakota Arts Council (SDAC) announces the purchase of 13 new pieces for the state's public art collection through the Art for State Buildings program.

The recent purchases were selected by a five-member advisory committee to the SDAC, which reviewed 62 proposals, and based its decisions on quality of the work; the artwork's relevance to South Dakota environment, history, heritage, or culture; professional experience of the artist; permanence and safety, as required for public artworks.

The artwork selected for purchase represents artists from across the state, including:

• Mick B. Harrison, Belle Fourche, A Quick Eye And Quicker Gate, oil on canvas, 24"x40"
• Amy Lehman, Belvidere, The Sentinel, photography, 17.5"x22.5"
• Teri McTighe, Faith, Endurance, colored pencil, 12"x10"
• Angela Behrends, Madison, Buffaloed, mixed media sculpture, 32"x48"
• Susan Drey, Rapid City, Sturgis Week on St. Joe, watercolor on paper, 16.5"x12"
• Rodger Ellingson, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, acrylic, 48"x30"
• Laura Jewell, Sioux Falls, Meadowlark Block, watercolor, 8"x8"
• Chad Nelson & Lindsay Twa, Sioux Falls, Parable of a Fallen Ash, woodcut on board, 48"x96.5"
• Barbara Sparks, Sioux Falls, Echinacea, Watercolor, 48"x36"
• Jordan Thornton, Sioux Falls, Pasque Field, linocut, watercolor, 8"x15"
• Jesse Nelson, Spearfish, Sleeping Bear, photograph on metal, 40"x20"
• J. Desy Schoenewies, Spearfish, Transplant, oil on canvas, 60"x48"
• Kat Thompson, Whitewood, Majestic Cottonwood, oil on board, 12"x30"

The Art for State Buildings program was created in 2008 for the purpose of showcasing the work of talented South Dakota artists and to build a permanent state art collection for display in publicly accessible areas of state government buildings. A full list of the Art for State Buildings collection and locations is available via the SDAC website at https://artscouncil.sd.gov/directories/artstatebldgs.aspx; pieces acquired this year will be installed for public display throughout the Capitol Complex later this summer.

An office of the South Dakota Department of Tourism, the South Dakota Arts Council's mission is to provide grants and services to artists, arts organizations, and schools across the state, with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts and the state of South Dakota.