1879
“Lumberman Thomas B. Walker attaches an art gallery to his house and opens it to the people of Minneapolis the first public art gallery in the Northwest.
He later deeds his collection and a building to house it to the city, thus laying the groundwork for the famous Walker Art Center.” *
Thank You, Lord, that You created beauty for all to enjoy! Additonally, You have gifted the human race with senses to perceive and receive the exquisite aesthetics of Your Creativity! Thanks for the receptivity to resplendence that Thomas B. Walker practiced throughout his life.
Again, thank You for giving him a generous heart to share his collection with the state of Minnesota. I’m still surprised to learn that the present Walker Art Center was started by a lumberman!? In this era of our North Star past, most “self-made men” were astonishingly practical and concrete-thinkers. It is a pleasure to find Mr. Walker the exception to the prejudices of Minneapolitans!
Like my own my false assessments of him, our collective normalcy bias would not allow a “doer” the grace to also be an observer. It’s curious that Walker’s generosity seemed to be blocked or otherwise doomed to failure from his contemporaries; precisely those he intended to bless. The city of Minneapolis even refused the gift of his art, and donated land to build a public gallery?! **
Lord, will You soothe the pain of this rejection past, and make opportunities to give publicly smoother and easier in the present and the future? You’ve given authority to city and county government, but forgive our leaders their short sighted choices, and failures of pride. We, too often, have loved things, and used people. Have mercy!
Will You forgive the false assessments made of artists, and artistic movements in Minnesota through the years. Lord, I invite You to re-open the Walker. Holy Spirit will You reside there and make it a praise to You? Will You lead our minds higher and to more reality through visual art?
**You can quickly read a few more of Walker’s rejections at the following link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T._B._Walker
praythroughhistory 