A Deep Devotion

Ten Years of Aquisitions

Art Collections in Universities first began in the 1830s with the advent of University Museums established to promote teaching and research. In the 1940s, Laurence Vail Coleman, Director of the American Association of Museums, published College and University Museums: A Message for College and University Presidents arguing that any serious institution should have a Museum and actively collect objects. In postwar America, federal institutions like the National Endowment for the Arts began financially supporting universities in the purchase of contemporary artworks to promote public support for the arts in America.

In 1965, NDSU’s Art Acquisition Committee was allocated $850 to purchase pieces for a Student Art Collection. Over a thousand artworks, including contemporary artists Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns and Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, have been purchased or donated since. These paintings, prints, sculptures and photographs make up the seven unique art collections held by the MU Gallery. A Deep Devotion showcases artworks acquired over the last ten years by the Memorial Union Gallery that contributes to NDSU’s teaching, research and conversations happening in the Fargo/Moorhead community.

Drawn In

Five Decades of Editorial Cartooning

Steve Stark was a longtime Forum cartoonist, actor and historian. His cartoons appeared in the Forum from 1989 to 2022.

Stark was an early cartoonist while a student at NDSU on The Spectrum student newspaper in the 1970s. Later, he began his editorial cartooning in earnest at the Lake County News Chronicle, a weekly newspaper in Two Harbors, MN. While in Two Harbors he soon became publisher of that county newspaper. There, on the North Shore of Lake Superior he also contributed cartoons to daily newspapers, The Hibbing Daily News, and The Duluth News Tribune. When he and his wife moved back to Fargo a few years later, he started as an editorial cartoonist for The Forum on a regular basis. In the F-M area he also contributed editorial cartoons to West Fargo publications as well as the Grand Forks Herald and others.

The Forum published Stark’s work on a weekly basis until his retirement in 2022. During his career, it is estimated that he published over 4,000 editorial cartoons.

Where to Park????

Here is a Map of spaces you can park for free after 4:30pm. 

Hours of Operation: 

Monday-Friday 9:00am-5:00pm

Summer Hours: 

Monday-Friday, 9:00am-4:00pm 

Questions: Please contact Anthony Faris at james.faris@ndsu.edu

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