The MN Marine Art Museum was featured in RiverTowns, a publication that covers news in eastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin. The museum features “art inspired by water,” and paintings by artists such as Van Gogh, Picasso, Matisse, Cezanne, Gauguin, Degas, Manet, Monet are part of its permanent exhibition.
“It’s a surprise. It’s a hidden gem. It’s not what a visitor expects to find in a small town in Minnesota. People are just stunned by the quality of the large recognizable names in art history,” said Jon Swanson, curator of collections and exhibitions. “We really work under the tagline ‘great art inspired by water.’ That includes traditional marine art such as seascapes and portraits of ships and naval battles, but it is also an artist’s response to water throughout the history of art.”
In order to see famous paintings, visitors to art museums in cities such as Paris, London, Chicago, and New York often have to deal with parking problems, long lines, and crowded galleries. That is not the case at the Minnesota Marine Art Museum.
“While we certainly hope to get to the point where we are seeing 50,000 or 75,000 people each year, we are appreciative of the size of our galleries and the size of our building,” said Chamberlain-Dupree, Executive Director of MMAM, “It can be a very peaceful and personal experience for our visitors.”