"Prairie Schooner" Greets Visitors at the Museum of Nebraska Art

For amber waves of grain, the Great Plains roll more turgidly than placidly. The schooners that brought some of our ancestors west in search of land and opportunity didn’t sail calm seas.

When the Museum of Nebraska Art asked me to design the reception desk that would welcome every visitor, the land was the first thing I thought of: the way it builds and swells, breaks and tips. The function of a reception desk quickly followed: this piece of furniture had to offer places where a visitor could ask a question, view a map, or sign a document. Ideally, it should place the host in a sight-line from the main entrance, where the first thing visitors see is a smiling face.

I’m deeply honored to have this artwork in such a position at the museum that presents and protects the official art collection of the State of Nebraska, my home. Visitors come to this museum to find out who we Nebraskans are, how we express ourselves, and how we are alike and different. They come to expand their imaginations and grow new ideas. They come to see history and learn from what’s gone before. I have tried to build for us an object at the center of these functions, and I present it to you with love.

After a major renovation and expansion, where every square inch of the institution was considered and the square footage was doubled, the museum will reopen to the public on Saturday May 3. I’ve seen it. It’s spectacular. It’s worth a visit from any part of the state. Kearney is just 2 1/2 hours from Omaha.

Todd McCollister
“Prairie Schooner”
2024
Wood, solid-surface countertop material, acrylic paint