About the Exhibits
Ade Bethune: Symbols of the Spirit
Ade Bethune's narrative is an indispensable chapter of our cultural history. As an artist, writer, and liturgical consultant, she made significant contributions to sacred art and architecture as well as social justice spanning over a half-century. This collection embodies Ade Bethune’s Symbols of the Spirit article, published in the Catholic Art Quarterly in 1954, and explores the different symbols Sister Ade uses to represent Spirit, the third aspect of the Holy Trinity.
Adolf Dehn: The Works
This exhibit explores a collection of Dehn’s works that display his range of subjects and styles using four highlighted categories of his work: Portraits, Landscapes, Satire, and Storytelling.
Architecture in Art
This exhibit takes a closer look at the architecture within the St. Catherine University's Fine Art Collection. This exhibit includes images of buildings and architectural structures such as bridges from around the world. Paintings, sketches, and sculptures all depict various architectural features.
Been There, Dehn That
Explore the world through the eyes and paintbrush of Minnesota-born artist Adolf Dehn. Dehn's work spans the entire globe throughout the middle of the twentieth century, from cafés in Paris, processions in India, busy markets in Haiti, to sprawling cityscapes of New York City. From humorous sketches of nuns to depictions of magnificent mountain landscapes, Dehn saw it all.
Catholic Interracial Council of the Twin Cities
This exhibit includes documents and newsletters selected from the Catholic Interracial Council of the Twin Cities collection that highlight the organization’s activities, volunteers, and reactions to local and national civil rights events of the time.
Corita Kent and Her Students
This exhibit features digitized serigraphs created by Corita and her students. Most of the prints fall within two artistic movements of the twentieth century: abstract expressionism and pop art. The abstract expressionist prints are religious in theme, with a particular focus on images of Jesus and the Christ figure. The pop art prints focus on text-based images, with a focus on social justice themes. The student work included in the collection consists of serigraphs by students of Corita Kent.
Flowers and Nature in Art
From woodprints to ceramics to lithographs, this exhibit showcases the various mediums in which nature’s beauty can be displayed in a digital form. Each page of the exhibit highlights a different creator, their preferred medium, and their depictions of the nature environment in which they surrounded themselves.
Forests and Flowers: Works of Nature by Lieder, Dehn, and Mairs
A collection of artwork by Cecilia Lieder, Adolf Dehn, and Clara Gardner Mairs intended to establish a common thread by displaying pieces that depict an overall theme of flowers or nature. This digital collection strives to bring attention to certain pieces from Adolf Dehn and Clara Gardner Mairs that may not be featured as often as others and relate to nature.
Humanity in the Art of Clara Mairs
This exhibit covers depictions of humanity in the art of Clara Mairs. The exhibit is divided into the following categories: Daily Life, Nudes, Children, Romance and Literacy. The exhibit also includes a bibliography of books by and about Clara Mairs.
James and Nan McKinnell Pottery 1946-1990s
This exhibit explores the McKinnells' life, art, and passion for pottery. James and Nan McKinnell, husband and wife team gifted in the art of ceramics, teaching, and innovation in the pottery world, spent their adult lives exploring the world and the act of creating art. The work and experiences of these highly prolific and nomadic artists offers us a snapshot into the post World War II arts movement in America.
Japanese Woodblock Prints
This exhibit features 36 beautiful and iconic Japanese woodblock prints available through St. Catherine University’s Fine Art Collection, created by 15 Japanese woodblock print artists. Their one-of-a-kind processes and aesthetic styles represent the fascinating history, age-old techniques, recognizable style, and lasting legacy of Japanese woodblock prints.
Japanese Woodblock Triptychs
This exhibit features 25 Japanese woodblock prints, most of which date from the Meiji Era and all of which can be found in the St. Catherine University Archives. All the woodblock prints featured are triptych prints, meaning that while each individual print is self-contained in its own right, it was created alongside two companion pieces to complete a larger work. The prints exhibited here capture a mix of historical events, cultural traditions, and slices of daily life. They are presented as complete triptychs where possible, and are arranged chronologically, so that they may serve as windows into this fascinating period in Japanese history.
Making a Musical Contribution
The St. Catherine University Music Department is one of the oldest and most influential departments within the university and has had a significant impact on its history. This exhibit includes a series of performances, programs, and moments that showcase not only the excellence of this department, but also how they embodied the ideals of the entire St. Kate community.
Marshall Plan Posters
This exhibit showcases a selection of posters originally printed in 1950 as part of a contest promoting the European Recovery Program, better known as the Marshall Plan. Over 10,000 artists from 13 European Marshall Plan countries entered the contest, and the 25 winners were announced in May 1950. 13 of the winning posters are found in the St. Catherine University collections. The poster contest was part of a wider publicity and propaganda campaign aimed to raise awareness and support for the Marshall Plan in the wake of World War II, to promote goodwill toward economic recovery efforts, and to combat the rise of Communism and Communist propaganda.
Minnesota Artists at St. Kate's
There are many great artists from the United States and abroad within the St. Catherine Fine Arts Collection; however it can be a great source of inspiration to see the work of local artists and the success that they've achieved. Thus, this exhibit displays the collected works of four Minnesota artists from within the collection: Gemma Rossini Cullen, Sister Joanne Emmer, Peter Lupori, and Sister Philomene McAuley. On each page you'll find greater discussion of their life and works, as well as the works themselves.
Minnesota Streetcars
This exhibit showcases the vibrant history of streetcars in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota. The collection highlights 84 years of streetcar use from their local introduction in 1870 to their removal in 1954.
St. Kate's Gems
At the heart of St. Kate's are active, creative, and socially engaged women. Local women artists have captured these values in their work, communicating generations what it means to be a Katie. This exhibit proudly offers these underrepresented artists a chance to continue shaping the campus and community of St. Kate's.
Southwest Native American Pottery
This exhibit explores the pottery of Southwest Native American tribes in the St. Catherine Fine Art collection. Every piece tells a story, from finding the clay to its retrieval from the kiln.
Story of a Storyteller: Celebrating 140 Years of Ruth Sawyer
A digital exhibit of a portion of the Ruth Sawyer Papers—a collection of manuscripts, letters, photographs, awards, and other kept materials gifted to Saint Catherine University after Sawyer’s death in 1970. The accolades, letters from admirers, and rare photographs featured in this exhibit illustrate Sawyer’s lasting impact as an author and proponent of children’s literature.
Student Intaglios
This is a collection of intaglios style prints made by the students of St. Catherine University that are housed in the Ann Jennings Student Art Archives. The intent of this exhibit is to highlight some of the artistic abilities of St. Catherine University students over time, with prints made from 1991-2005.