Nebraska celebrated 150 years of statehood in 2017. “The Legacy of Nebraska: Paintings by Todd A. Williams” was open to the public on Statehood Day. Nebraska-born artist Williams spent five years creating paintings that depict historic, geographic, and figurative elements from each of the state’s 93 counties. He worked with historians, sponsors, and leaders in each county to identify significant subjects for the project. Some counties inspired more than one painting. A total of 124 pieces were on exhibit at 131 Centennial Mall North, Lincoln. Some of the paintings are available online at www.toddwilliamsfineart.com
In the summer of 2017 parts of the exhibit were shown at Grand Island’s Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer and Omaha’s Gallery 1516. Regional selections were simultaneously exhibited at Bone Creek Museum of Agrarian Art, David City; Homestead National Monument of America, Beatrice; Gallery 92 West, Fremont; Dawson County Historical Society Museum, Lexington; and the West Nebraska Art Center, Scottsbluff.
“The Legacy of Nebraska” was named a Legacy Program by the Nebraska Sesquicentennial Commission. It is part of a larger educational project that includes an art book (available at www.ne150.org). A documentary, “Painting Nebraska’s Legacy,” premiered in 2017 on NET television.
The project was made possible by support of the Friends of the Nebraska 150 Sesquicentennial, Omaha Steaks, the Nebraska Arts Council and the Nebraska Cultural Endowment, Humanities Nebraska, Nelson Family Foundation, Richard Brooke Foundation, Windgate Foundation, First National Bank of Omaha, Cornerstone Bank, and History Nebraska.
