Marian Anderson, world-renowned southern Minnesota artist, passes away at 84
Her talent has taken her around the world, but beloved artist Marian Anderson has always called southern Minnesota home.
MANKATO, Minn. (KEYC) - If you don’t own one of her pieces, you’ve seen them around town.
Beloved artist Marian Anderson passed away peacefully this week at the age of 84.
Her talent has taken her around the world, but she has always called southern Minnesota home.
Born in 1936 into a Nicollet farm family, Marian Anderson was born to create.
“Soon on, she discovered a love for drawing and coloring and eventually painting,” Jessica Potter, executive director of the Blue Earth County History Center said.
She calls the genesis of Anderson’s art humble.
“She got her first paints out of a city dump in Madelia,” Potter said. “She was with her dad and they found some used tubes of oil paint, and they gathered them up and with some really cheap brushes, she went to painting a picture.”
Education at the time did not include art, but adults in her life saw talent in young Marian Anderson, and encouraged her to practice.
Her decades-long career as a full-time artist began shortly after in the 1960s, first focusing on wildlife and portraits.
Along the way, she gained notoriety across the United States.
“Her work was so accessible,” Potter said. “You could imagine these places. You can feel in your mind’s eye the fuzz on the end of a horse’s snout. You could hear the crunch of the snow. She created these places, these moments in time, and I think that’s what appealed to people.”
Anderson’s work became recognized globally. She was named Artist of the Year in 1991, and was commissioned to create paintings for organizations like Pheasants Forever and the National Wildlife turkey stamp.
But while her art was in the spotlight, Potter says she never wanted to be.
“Winning all of those national awards and having all the community acclaim and national acclaim could have gone to her head,” Potter said. “That just wasn’t her.”
Anderson leaves a portfolio that captured the essence of southern Minnesota: the people, the places, and the feelings.
The world will always remember her name. And through the years, she always remembered where it began.
“She kept all of the tubes of paint when they were spent,” Potter said. “There are little jars all over her house of used up tubes of paint. And I think they tie back to reminding her of her humble beginnings.”
In mid-March, The Blue Earth County History Center will host an exhibit on Anderson’s work, some of which has never been seen by the public. For now, you can see more than 100 of her pieces currently on display whenever the History Center is open.
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