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.

Calming the Storm He Qi, Chinese Artist – Born 1950 Associate Professor at Nanjing Union Theological Seminary, Nanjing, China.  Also, Artist-in-Residence and Lecturer. His style blends Chinese techniques and Western influences to produce a folk-art effect of universal appeal. Four figures and Christ are in a boat.  At the upper left, a dove is flying.  The dark blue tonality of the painting is relieved by the light blue waves splashing the boat and the very light headgear worn by the three men sitting in the boat.  Christ stands with outstretched arms to calm the storm.  A most dramatic portrayal of this Biblical story. Go Back   Next Image