Collections

The Museum’s collection includes more than 400 pieces of original wood sculptures carved by Leo Smith and painted by his wife Marilyn. The Smiths are well known for their colorful, whimsical carvings celebrating small-town life, river lore and the flora and fauna of the upper Mississippi River region. The Museum is the exclusive retailer of Leo Smith Folk Art reproductions.

 

The Smith Folk Art Collection is exhibited periodically within the Museum's temporary exhibition calendar. Please see Current and Future Exhibitions for information about exhibitions.

The Museum’s permanent collection includes a variety of maritime paintings, historic artifacts, personal possessions, ship models and navigational instruments from several centuries. Highlights include letters written by Lord Horatio Nelson (in his left and right hands), Nelson's wash basin from HMS Victory, two 19th-century ship figureheads, 17th-century Dutch bronze rail cannon, ship wheels and paintings by artists William Bradford, Alfred Bricher, Roy Cross, Montague Dawson, Mauritz De Haas, William Trost Richards ("The Rainbow" pictured) and many more.

On long-term loan to the Museum is the Burrichter/Kierlin Marine Art Collection, considered to be one of the largest private collections of marine art in North America. The 450 piece collection includes "traditional" marine paintings and artifacts, Hudson River School works, an impressive Impressionist and Post-Impressionist collection, and modern masters. Some artists represented include Bradford, Buttersworth, Cole, Homer, Monet, O'Keeffe, Picasso, Pissarro, Renoir and Van Gogh ("The Beach of Scheveningen" pictured).