By Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University.

Reconnecting with our history: That can be an important strategy for communities. Today we’ll learn about a rural community that made an effort to reconnect with some of its favorite sons.  That effort would not only help this community connect with its history, but it enabled the community to connect with a treasure of art that is incredible to find in rural Kansas.

Robert Cugno is the art collector and dealer who told me about the Walker Art Collection in Garnett, Kansas.

This story begins way back in 1896 when Maynard Walker was born in Garnett. Walker and his family later moved to Topeka, where he studied art in high school. After serving in the Army during World War I, he went into the newspaper business in New York City. He returned to Kansas City for a stint as art editor of the newspaper there, and then back to New York to become director of the painting department in an art gallery.

In 1935, he started his own art gallery which he successfully operated for the rest of his career.  Essentially, Maynard Walker was a prominent art dealer with facilities in New York and briefly in Hollywood. The primary artists in his gallery were three leading artists of the time, known as the Midwestern Triumvirate: John Steuart Curry, Grant Wood, and Thomas Hart Benton. Mr. Walker had an impressive list of clients, such as Edward G. Robinson, Katherine Hepburn, and Clare Booth Luce.

Fast forward to 1951. Two women in Garnett were trying to reconnect with the history of the Garnett community, including Mr. Walker. One of the women was the long-time librarian in Garnett. Another was Marguerite Jackman, who was compiling letters from famous people who originated in the Garnett area.

She wrote to Maynard Walker in New York and he replied, “Would you like some pictures?”  Interestingly, he called them pictures, rather than paintings. In April 1951, Maynard Walker sent the Garnett Library seven paintings, including one by John Steuart Curry. These were sent as a loan at first, and then he donated a number of additional pieces of artwork.

It became a collection of art which Mr. Walker named for his mother: The Mary Bridget McAullife Walker Art Collection at the Garnett Public Library.

Fast forward again to 1988. Robert Logan and Robert Cugno were art dealers in California. They were looking for a facility and came across a historic building in Garnett known as the Kirk House, which they ultimately purchased. The Kirk House is located in downtown Garnett, next door to the public library. When they got to Garnett, the first thing the two art dealers looked at was the library, where they found the Walker Art Collection.

Robert Cugno said, “I still get chills thinking about when we found the collection. It was amazing, but it needed some attention.” The two art dealers led a campaign to restore and house the artwork appropriately. In 2001, a new addition was added onto the library to display the Mary Bridget McAullife Walker Art Collection. The library also houses the Garnett City Art Collection, featuring 95 works of prominent California artists donated by a collector.

This is an incredible treasure to find in small town Kansas. Robert Cugno said, “It’s a remarkable thing to find in a rural community. I think it’s the most important little collection west of the Mississippi River.”

Apparently others agree. The most recent couple of pages in the art gallery’s guest book list visitors from Kansas; Missouri; Oklahoma; Texas; Brooklyn, New York; and Pretoria, South Africa. They’ve all made their way to the Walker Art Collection in the rural community of Garnett, Kansas, population 3,391 people. Now, that’s rural.

Reconnecting with our history:  That can be an important strategy for rural communities, and in this case, that reconnection brought about the gift of highly valuable works of art. We commend the Garnett library, Maynard Walker, Robert Cugno and Robert Logan, and all those involved for making a difference by reconnecting and sharing this art collection. Sometimes reconnecting just might make history.

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The mission of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development is to enhance rural development by helping rural people help themselves. The Kansas Profile radio series and columns are produced with assistance from the K-State Research and Extension Department of Communications News Unit. A photo of Ron Wilson is available at  http://www.ksre.ksu.edu/news/sty/RonWilson.htm.  Audio and text files of Kansas Profiles are available at http://www.kansasprofile.com. For more information about the Huck Boyd Institute, interested persons can visit http://www.ksre.ksu.edu/huckboyd/.

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