In Search of Ourselves: A Reinstallation of the Museum of Nebraska Art’s Permanent Collection

Defining what it means for an artist or artwork to be “Nebraskan” is a challenging task. By striving for an exact definition, we risk overlooking the many possibilities of what it can be. When the Museum of Nebraska Art was founded in 1976 as the Nebraska Art Collection, we became tasked with determining what Nebraska art is simply by building our collection. Over time, the criteria for Nebraska art changed as the people and voices involved in shaping the collection changed.

Historically, the permanent collection has been organized chronologically by eras or periods: Artist-Explorers (1776-1850), Early Nebraskans (1851-1880), Modern Era Artists (1881-1920), and Artists of Today (1921-present). While this can be a helpful strategy for marking time, it also has limitations as the collection grows and diversifies.

This exhibition surveys the Museum of Nebraska Art’s permanent collection of more than 5,000 objects thematically, asking the question, “What is Nebraska art?” In the five sections that follow, we do not attempt to find an answer. Instead, we offer a sampling of what Nebraska art can be by exploring ways artists and artworks become part of Nebraska’s story.

In Search of Ourselves is made possible by generous support from the Terra Foundation for American Art, the National Endowment for the Arts, and conservation support from the Peck Stacpoole Foundation.