First Floor, Main & South Galleries
Collection Connections: Art in Conversation
January 20–July 25, 2026
In 2026, the Center for Great Plains Studies and its Great Plains Art Museum celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Center and the 45th anniversary of the museum’s opening. To commemorate these milestones, this exhibition highlights artworks from the collection that span the museum’s history, from the founding donation to recent acquisitions. Rather than presenting these selections in a chronological arrangement, artworks are paired or grouped to focus on formal and thematic connections and emphasize the diverse perspectives that tell the multifaceted stories of the Great Plains.
Support for this exhibition is provided by the Charles W. Guildner Great Plains Art Museum Excellence Fund.
Above: Fremont Ellis, Autumn Aspens (or Taos Woodland Scene), 1929, oil on canvas, 29 x 37 inches (framed), gift of Dr. John and Elizabeth Christlieb, 1982.0032.
Banner: Steve C. LaRance (Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians), Drive-In Church, 2022, oil on canvas, 23 1/8 x 31 inches (framed), Museum purchase through the generosity of Union Bank & Trust, 2024.0014.0001. ©Steve C. LaRance.
First Floor, West Gallery
“All the Beauty You Can See”: Dwight Kirsch in Nature
January 20–July 25, 2026
A native Nebraskan and prolific artist, Dwight Kirsch (1899–1981) was an important figure in the Lincoln arts community in the early-to-mid twentieth century, serving as chair of the University of Nebraska Art Department and playing an integral role in the Nebraska Art Association. The Great Plains Art Museum’s extensive collection of Kirsch’s work spans his time teaching in Nebraska through his last years at the Colorado State Veterans Nursing Home. This exhibition presents a small sampling of those holdings, each selected to demonstrate Kirsch’s deep and lifelong fascination with conveying the nuances and beauty of the natural world through art.
This project was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
Above: Dwight Kirsch, Big Sandhill near Burwell, Nebraska, with Melting Snow at Sunset, 1940s, gouache on bogus paper, 18 3/4 x 23 7/8 inches, gift of JoAnn Kelly Alexander, 2008.0003.0074.
Mezzanine Gallery
Indigenous Ceramics from the Collection
January 20–July 25, 2026
This permanent collection spotlight exhibition in the museum’s Mezzanine Gallery features diverse ceramic works by Indigenous artists of the Great Plains and nearby Southwest region.
Above: Chase Kahwinhut Earles (Caddo Nation), The Caddo Story of Night and Day, 2016, low-fire clay; hand-coiled, burnished, kiln-fired, and pit fire smudged, 10 x 8 (diam) inches, purchased through the generosity of the Woods Charitable Fund, 2016.0008.0001. © Chase Kahwinhut Earles.
LOWER-LEVEL GALLERY
Wild Great Plains
October 3, 2025–February 21, 2026
Inspired by the Center for Great Plains Studies’ 50th annual conference, Wild Great Plains, this exhibition considers the concept of “wild” in art. Drawing from the Great Plains Art Museum’s permanent collection, Wild Great Plains explores how artists have connected with and portrayed the wild species and places of the region.
Artwork: Kirsten Furlong, Night Passages: Bobolink, 2021, acrylic and ink on paper, 30 ¼ x 22 ¼ inches, commissioned for the Elizabeth Rubendall Artist-in-Residence Collection, 2021.0001.0001. © Kirsten Furlong. Courtesy of Kirsten Furlong.
