Great Plains Art Collection
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The Great Plains Art Collection of the Center for Great Plains Studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln opened in 1981 after a generous donation from Dr. John and Elizabeth Christlieb of Bellevue, Nebraska. The Christliebs donated their valued collection of western art and their library of western Americana, and provided an endowment for the care and maintenance of the Collection.
The Christlieb Collection serves as the foundation of the Great Plains Art Collection’s permanent collection. The Collection, consists of approximately 170 bronze sculptures, 140 paintings and drawings, 100 other works on paper and several hundred photographs, and includes artwork by Albert Bierstadt, William de la Montagne Cary, Robert F. Gilder, William Henry Jackson, Frederic Remington, Charles M. Russell, and Olaf Wieghorst. The library donated by the Christliebs is an impressive 4,000 volumes, which consists of several Western novels and many other fiction and nonfiction books about the West and the Great Plains.
Since 1980, many generous donors have helped to enlarge the collection with additional gifts, including twentieth century Native American paintings from Patricia J. and Stanley H. Broder, the Richard Lane collection of western fiction and history, and the Regina Collection of Canadian plains literature. The Great Plains Art Collection is the home to many works of art by such artists as Lyman Byxbe, Ray Ellis, Michael Forsberg, Veryl Goodnight, Laurie Houseman-Whitehawk, Keith Jacobshagen, Christina McPhee, Herb Mignery, and Grant Wood.
Exhibits are typically rotated every three to four months and include artwork from the permanent collection, guest curated exhibitions, and traveling exhibits.
The Great Plains Art Collection is located at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 1155 Q Street, Hewit Place, Lincoln, Nebraska.
