Museum and Fine Arts Collections

The Luther Seminary Archives program includes responsibility for a 3,800 item museum collection called the Mission Heritage Collection. These artifacts represent missionary gifts from China, Japan, Hong Kong, Madagascar, South Africa and Tanzania. The collection also includes early 20^th century Inuit materials from Alaska. 

At any given time approximately 20 percent of the collection is on view in cases around the Luther Seminary campus. The artifact collections are supported by large photographic holdings in the ELCA Region 3 Archives global mission files.

Along side the Mission Heritage Collection is Luther Seminary’s permanent collection of fine art pieces. At present, more than paintings, sculptures, textile items and photographs constitute this growing collection, including the approximately 250 piece Prodigal Son Collection, gifted by Jerry Evenrud. 

Pieces from the permanent collection rotate on a regular basis through public areas on campus. Archivist and curator Paul Daniels and the seminary Fine Arts Committee have responsibility for this collection.

Click to enlarge.

Story of Ruth Serigraph  (1991) Image Size:  21-1/4 x 28-1/4" Paper Size:  27-1/4 x 34-3/4" John August Swanson – Born 1938 Los Angeles artist John August Swanson is noted for his finely detailed, brilliantly colored Biblical pieces.  His works are found in the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, London's Tate Gallery, the Vatican Museum's Collection of Modern Religious Art, and other public collections. Twelve panels portray the Ruth story. The formal organized grid presentation is a most interesting contrast to the organization of "The Visit" in the Luther collection. Go Back   Next Image