Minnesota Marine Art Museum


	Home
	eShop
	Comments
	News
	Contact

2006 Leo Smith FOLK ART

Our 3 new pieces are now available! Go to PRODUCTS

We moved our Leo Smith FOLK ART Shop to the:

Minnesota Marine Art Museum
800 Riverview Drive
Winona, MN
Phone: (507) 474-6626

Hours:

10 am-5pm Tues - Sat
11am - 5pm Sun
Closed Monday

Please visit us there!!

Maritime Art Museum Sails Into Winona, MN

A new maritime art museum is now open in Winona, MN on the banks of the Mississippi River.

It took more than three years to complete, but The Minnesota Marine Art Museum has finally sailed into Winona. The museum sits right on the Mississippi River and is filled with some of the most respected artists in the world.

Museum director Bud Baechler said, "What we have here is all of the top artists … all of the top marine artists … but we have them in-depth."

The museum features three galleries, an atrium, cafe, gift shop, six acre garden and houses three major collections of art.

The first is the Burrichter-Kierlin Marine Art Collection Marine Art collection on loan from Mary Burrichter and Bob Kierlin. It features paintings, watercolors three-dimensional marine objects and personal possesions spanning the globe and four centuries. This collection is one of the largest and finest private marine art collections in the world. Mary Burrichter wanted to share their collection with others. "These paintings are just too good for just two people to enjoy," she said.

The museum also houses the largest collection of rare photographs and maps of the upper Mississippi River by Henry Peter Bosse. Bosse worked for the US Army Corps of Engineers in the late 19th century and photographed the Mississippi River from St. Paul, MN to St. Louis, MO.

The Minnesota Marine Art Museum is now home to more than 400 wonderful carved and painted wood scuptures by Leo and Marilyn Smith. The collection of sculptures capture the flora, fauna, history and people of the upper Mississippi River region.

The museum also houses a nautical and maritime research library.

The grand opening was August 20, 2006.

PRESS RELEASE: Wednesday, April 6, 2005

MARITIME HERITAGE SOCIETY ACQUIRES LEO SMITH FOLK ART

(Winona, MN) Acquisition of the Leo Smith Folk Art Collection by the Maritime Heritage Society was announced today by the Society. The collection of more than four hundred original woodcarvings and bronze castings will be part of the permanent collection of the Society’s museum, the MINNESOTA MARINE ART MUSEUM, slated for opening next year.

“This extraordinary collection of folk art sculptures in wood and bronze is an American treasure that has earned a place of distinction in the hearts and minds of gallery and museum curators, private art collectors and art journalists and critics across the world,” said Society president, Bud Baechler, in making the announcement. “This collection is a body of magical work that spans nearly four decades of the devotion and artistry of Leo and Marilyn Smith, and with this acquisition, this priceless collection will forever remain a part of the rich story of this River valley,” Baechler said.

Internationally collected, the compelling folk art sculptures are born in the imagination of Leo Smith III as he regularly immerses himself in the wonder of the hills, cliffs, forests, swamps and sandbars of the upper Mississippi River Valley. “The River and the people, the legends and myths that shape the heritage of this place are really the fuel of our inspiration,” Leo Smith said. “Marilyn and I have been so lucky,” he says, “Our life and work are almost the same thing.”

Leo is the carver and Marilyn the painter. Mostly self-taught, the Smiths are master storytellers who spin their folk yarns and bring them to life in pieces of wood found in the nearby forest or floating down the River. Some pieces of flotsam, more than a century old, spring to life in the hearts and hands of the Smiths.

Preview the 2005 Leo Smith Exclusives

PAINE ART CENTER & GARDENS Buys Leo´s Lion

"Tabernacle" Lion was purchased at auction by the Paine Art Center.

The Lion will be displayed in the Gardens opposite Leo's Bronze "Roman Head" facing the Shade Garden. There are some birch trees in the area, so it will fit right in and be a nice surprise for people walking the path.

The beloved "Tabernacle" Lion will be shown off at the black-tie "Lion Ball" at the Paine where he'll get some extra attention. This black-tie gala roars with glamour and elegance.

SANTA CLAUS Collection Book
Better Homes and Gardens is issuing their 6th Edition of the Hardcover SANTA CLAUS Collection Book.

Included in the 2004 Book will be a 10 page story on Leo & Marilyn's FOLK ART Santas.

If you are interested in purchasing the book you can place an order through us on our PRODUCTS page.

Note: Our new 2004 WINTER CLAUS Santa is on the cover of the 2004 6th Edition Santa Claus Book :)

VIDEO CLIP of LEO

Go to the bottom of our HOME page or our LINKS button to view a Video clip of Leo
on the Minneapolis Star Tribune website.

SCULPTOR FINDS INSPIRATION IN MISSISSIPPI
by Regina McCombs, J. Pinkley
Published June 25, 2004

"TABERNACLE" LION at the Paine

The INSPIRATION: Out of the earth comes the lion…

“Tabernacle” is a concept which came about as a result of finding a stone in the hills above my house which to me resembled a lion. I kept the stone as inspiration for future sculpture. When Aaron Sherer, Director of the Paine Art Center, invited me to do a rendition of the Lion for the Pride of Oshkosh, I looked at the stone lion and thought maybe there might be a way in which one lion could reference and talk to the other.

If we take the point that the large fiberglass lion represents the modern and contemporary world, then the stone lion is ancient and represents a timeless messenger from the distant past. The fiberglass lion is plastic and is symbolic of nature, whereas the stone is natural and symbolizes a lion. In the true scheme of things nature is more consistent and eternal and from whence we came and in which we live.
I used paint to represent nature in the form of a faux birch bark finish. Birch to me says the north and the outdoors. It looks fresh and clear and is a metaphor for nature in my mind. I like to look at birch. In my way of thinking my birch lion is an altar upon which I place my personal experience and feeling for the earth. This is the only earth that I am familiar with. It is hyper real when out of its midst springs the lion of stone. It speaks to me of magic and coincidence. It is a lucky charm in the most intimate way. I found meaning in the dirt and it supports my search for meaning in my contemporary world.

I use the title Tabernacle because in my spiritual upbringing, the host which symbolizes the presence of God is placed in the taberna (shed). In a real way for me nature is God, the source of all we are on the physical plane. We must honor and protect nature in a shed (Tabernacle) of awe and reverence. The contemporary supports the eternal.

Leo Smith III
Fountain City, WI
May 21, 2004

PRIDE OF OSHKOSH

LIONS Reign for Education & Arts.

The project is modeled after similar projects across the country - with Cows on Parade in Chicago as the most renowned.

The Pride of Oshkosh focuses on the king of animals...the LION.

Leo is pictured working on his Lion by Leo for the Paine Art Center called "Tabernacle Lion".

We will keep you posted with the story and the news.

Place your orders now
for the NEW 2004 Leos

Click on photo to enlarge

You may PLACE YOUR ORDERS NOW
for the New 2004 Leo Smith FOLK ART Exclusives.

Go to PRODUCTS to Order.
Delivery in July.

Preview the 2004
Leo Smith Exclusives

Click on photo to enlarge

Leo Smith FOLK ART is now available ONLY through LEO SMITH!

We would love to have you visit our shop in Fountain City, but if that isn´t possible, we will give you, our treasued customer, the same personal service online through www.leosmith.com

YOU CAN BUY WITH CONFIDENCE AND A FULL GUARANTEE FROM THE ONES THAT CREATE AND DREAM THE LEO SMITH COLLECTION - Leo & Marilyn Smith.

"Roman Santa"

The Paine Art Center's horticulturalists, Sheila and Sue pose with Leo's bronze Roman Head.

ANNOUNCING!
Leo Smith Folk Art EXCLUSIVES

2003 Introduction!

SPOOKY LU, PEACE on EARTH SANTA and REGAL SANTA
are available EXCLUSIVELY through Leo & Marilyn Smith
in a personally signed and numbered Limited Edition of 500 pieces.

Each piece comes gift boxed with a Certificate of Authenticity.

Go to the PRODUCTS page of our website, using the SANTA and HALLOWEEN button, for details and to place your order directly to us in Fountain City.

Museum Acquires Bronze
"Roman Head"

For the first time in 10 years, the prestigious Paine Art Center and Gardens in Oshkosh, WI has made a major acquisition of a bronze sculpture by Leo. They looked at many pieces of art by many artists and they kept returning to the "Roman Head". He is honored to be in the permanent collection of the Paine.

Leo is pictured here installing his sculpture.

"Journey in the Tree of Life" Complete

Leo poses with his completed sculpture for the Gundersen Lutheran, Oncology meditation room, called the "Sanctuary" located in LaCrosse, WI.

GARDEN SCULPTURE

The Garden Season is here and we find immense pleasure and satisfaction in our garden with the many trees, shrubs, flowers, birds and Garden Sculptures.

We have added a new button on the PRODUCTS Page called "GARDEN SCULPTURE" with photos of our bronze sculptures pictured in our own garden to help you visualize how a LEO SMITH Bronze would look in your Garden.

MEDITATION CENTER SCULPTURE

Leo is honored and privileged to have been chosen to create a major Sculpture to be the focal point of the Meditation Center at the new GUNDERSEN LUTHERAN ONCOLOGY MEDICAL CLINIC in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

Pictured are two pieces of
the large sculpture in progress.

Leo posing

in his studio with the base of the 11 foot sculpture.

FINE ART EXHIBITION

At The PAINE ART CENTER & GARDENS
GOTHIC GALLERY
Oshkosh,WI

November 12, 2002 - February 9,2003

"OUR TOWN" Originals by Leo Smith

OUR TOWN features the exquisite work of Leo Smith, the artist who created the Paine's Gothic Gallery carvings. The OUR TOWN figures are based on actual persons, old family photos, historical photos and research about people from ages past. Also included are seasonal figures such as Santas, a Nativity Set and angels.