Art worth the drive: 20 great museum artifacts in outstate Minnesota

1 "Willie Walleye" in Baudette, Minn. "It's the world's largest walleye sculpture!" said Nicole Grabow, an objects conservator for the Minnesota Art and Conservation Center (MACC). "It's 40 feet long and it's made of concrete with reinforced steel." Created in 1959, Willie is a source of pride in Lake of the Woods County, along the Canadian border. Thanks to the state's Legacy Amendment, Willie has been receiving some extra upkeep of late. Check out his new, improved look at Willie Walleye Day on June 6. www.lakeofthewoodshistoricalsociety.com

2 "Woman With Mask" at Rourke Art Museum. Founded in 1965, the Moorhead museum nurtured a bond with Fritz Scholder, an important American Indian modernist born 50 miles south, in Breckenridge. It hosted one of Scholder's early solo exhibits and collected a number of his paintings and sculptures. "But the one piece we always have on display is this beautiful bronze from 1985," said executive director Meredith Lynn. Bonus: It's displayed alongside works by Lichtenstein, Rauschenberg and Warhol. 521 Main Av., Moorhead; 1-218-236-8861; www.therourke.org

3 "Niimii" in Bemidji. "Niimii is a big, rusty Native American dancer," said Albert Bellevau, a Bemidji-based sculptor who oversees the beloved Bemidji Sculpture Walk. Created by Minnesota metalworker Wanda Odegard, it was one of the first sculptures to grace the annual rotating sculpture walk, which premiered in 1999. It's so popular that the 12-foot steel powwow dancer was given a permanent spot near Bemidji's tourist information center. Bellevau is in the process of moving it to a new perch "kind of in the center of 3rd Avenue," he said. Look for Niimii in her new home this August or September. www.bemidjisculpture.org

4 "Untitled" at Minnesota Discovery Center. Originally from Virginia, Minn., Rosalee Goddard Vogel became a reasonably successful abstract-expressionist in the 1950s and '60s. Her art (mostly photography) was collected by some of the nation's top museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and MOMA in New York City. When she died in 1987, her sister donated the rest of her oeuvre to this Iron Range museum. This attractive painting epitomizes a recurring theme in Vogel's work: experimentation with shadow and light. On view through October. 1005 Discovery Dr., Chisholm; 1-218-254-7959; www.mndiscoverycenter.com

5 "Gunflint Pines" at Johnson Heritage Post Art Gallery. How's this for a résumé? Anna C. Johnson was a Swedish immigrant, a teacher, an artist, a frontierswoman and a shopkeeper who settled in Grand Marais in the early 20th century. Completed in 1928, "Gunflint Pines" is the most beloved painting at her namesake gallery. It depicts a single gravel lane — what is now the Gunflint Trail — but "that grove of pine trees is still there," said executive director Don Davison. 115 Wisconsin St., Grand Marais; 1-218-387-2314; johnsonheritagepost.org

6 "Beaded mask" at the Tweed Museum of Art. A gas mask covered with deer hide and intricate floral beading, Naomi Bebo's eye-catching piece exemplifies the Duluth museum's commitment to collect contemporary works by American Indian and Canadian Indian artists. "It stops everybody in their tracks," said museum director Ken Bloom. University of Minnesota Duluth, 1201 Ordean Court, Duluth; 1-218-726-8222; www.d.umn.edu/tma

7 "The breakfast room" at Glensheen Mansion. The 1908 Duluth manse is filled with gorgeous rooms, but this cozy three-season dining room is particularly winning. Designed by John Bradstreet, the interior designer and tastemaker who helped found the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, the room is filled with Arts and Crafts-era flourishes: pottery tiles from Cincinnati-based Rookwood, stained glass windows by the Minneapolis Handicraft Guild, a handsome cypress table of Bradstreet's own design — plus glorious views of Lake Superior. 3300 London Road, Duluth; 1-218-726-8910; glensheen.wp.d.umn.edu

8 "The Pheasant Pair" at Jaques Art Center. In the early 1900s, when Francis Lee Jaques was 16, he moved with his parents from Illinois to a farm near Aitkin. Eight years later he departed for New York City to begin his fabled career as wildlife artist. Today he's best remembered for his enormous natural history dioramas, still gracing the American Museum of Natural History in NYC and the Bell Museum in Minneapolis. Founded in 2004, this hometown art center specializes in his smaller works. This lovingly detailed oil painting was a 1946 commission for Field and Stream magazine. 121 NW. 2nd St., Aitkin; 1-218-927-2363; www.jaquesart.com

9 "Uproot" at New York Mills Sculpture Park. This modest park neighbors a gas station and a hardware store. But it's filled with 20-plus treasures, including this industrial installation that offers a solemn observation about the nature of home. Created by Morris, Minn.-based artist Gary Wahl, the concrete-and-steel sculpture somehow evokes the transience of a windblown dandelion. Hwy. 10 at Broadway Av. (take the second exit for New York Mills); 1-218-385-3339; www.kulcher.org

10 "Early Snow" at Kaddatz Galleries. Founded in 2008, this nonprofit gallery showcases the work of Charles Beck, a well-regarded Fergus Falls printmaker now in his 90s. Art lovers come here to purchase one of Beck's woodcuts; he's famous for rendering rural landscapes with silhouetted trees. But this out-of-print piece is the one everyone ogles. "The piece definitely has regional landscape appeal," said curator Gretchen Boyum. "But it's also abstracted and flat, with a modern quality to it." 111 W Lincoln, Fergus Falls; 1-218-998-4405; www.kaddatzgalleries.org

11 Veterans Educational Historic Project at Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery. "I'm a very traditional painter," said Little Falls-based Charles Gilbert Kapsner, who studied frescos and representational art in Florence, Italy. "I'm still living in the 19th century." In 2010, the cemetery tapped his romantic sensibilities for an ambitious project: five 8-by-10-foot oil paintings — one for each branch of the military — to display at the burial ground bordering Camp Ripley, the National Guard facility in central Minnesota. Kapsner has completed historical montages representing the Army and Navy, and is nearly finished with his Coast Guard painting. When will the set be complete? "Honestly, I'm looking at another four years," he said. Follow his progress at www.vetsart.org. 15550 Hwy. 115, 7 miles north of Little Falls; 1-320-616-2527

12 Ojibwe beaded yoke at Mille Lacs Indian Museum and Trading Post. This museum holds more than 2,200 artifacts representing the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, including bandoleer bags, moccasins, birchbark baskets, dolls and beaded belts. With colorful glass beads and an elaborate floral motif, this vest-like garment was created between 1875 and 1925, and worn by Ojibwe women for dancing and other occasions. 43411 Oodena Dr., Onamia; 1-320-532-3632; www.mnhs.org

13 "The Granahan mural" at the Stearns County Historical Society. Originally painted for the St. Cloud Post Office in 1938, this striking mural is now the centerpiece of the county museum. It depicts two muscular workers at a granite quarry. The painting is credited to David Granahan, who spent much of his youth in St. Cloud, but by the artist's own account, the work was a collaborative effort with his wife, Lolita. The Granahans partnered on four Depression-era murals for Minnesota public buildings, but St. Cloud's "was our best," he wrote. 35 33rd Av. S., St. Cloud; 1-320-253-8424; www.stearns-museum.org

14 The meeting room at Meeker County Historical Society Museum. Stepping into this creaky room is like stepping out of a time machine. Built in 1885 by Civil War veterans, the fortresslike GAR Hall (short for Grand Army of the Republic) has been lovingly preserved by generations of Litchfield residents. Its meeting hall, wallpapered with portraits of Union Army veterans from the area, still has the original wobbly wooden chairs and kerosene chandelier. 308 Marshall Av. N., Litchfield; 1-320-693-8911; www.garminnesota.org

15 "Playstation" at Franconia Sculpture Park. "It's sort of this play structure, with swings hanging from it," said MACC conservator Grabow. The enormous sculpture (23 feet tall, 51 feet wide) incorporates colorful pieces of wood, plastic tube and scrap metals for zany effect. Artist Bridget Beck (formerly of Minnesota) bestowed her creation with a tunnel, a slide, even a lookout tower. "It's very inventive," said Grabow. "It really encourages you to touch and explore." 29836 St. Croix Trail, Shafer; 651-257-6668; www.franconia.org

16 "Sunset, Shady Valley" at Hillstrom Museum of Art. The museum's namesake, the Rev. Richard Hillstrom, once called this oil-on-wood-panel the "cream of the cream" of his collection. George Bellows was inspired by a landscape near Woodstock, N.Y., when he painted it in 1922. "It's kind of a modernist take on the area," explained museum director Donald Myers. "It's a beautiful mountainous scene. It has a lovely glow with the sun going down the mountains." This September the Hillstrom will celebrate its premier painting with a pair of Bellows-inspired riffs by artists from Gustavus Adolphus College. 800 W. College Av., St. Peter; 1-507-933-7200; www.gustavus.edu

17 "The Wheeler gun" at the First National Bank of Northfield. This museum's coolest artifacts concern Jesse James' botched bank robbery here in 1876. Highlights include a blood-soaked ledger, three of the outlaws' handguns, even a severed ear of uncertain origin (not currently on display). Next month the museum will start displaying one of the weapons used to defeat the bandits. "We just got a long-term loan on a gun one of the townspeople used to kill Clell Miller and wound Bob Younger," said Hayes Scriven, executive director of the Northfield Historical Society. The .50-caliber Smith carbine rifle was fired that fateful day by Henry Wheeler, a medical student who went on to become a doctor — and a hero. 408 Division St., Northfield; 1-507-645-9268; www.northfieldhistory.org

18 "Bacchanale" at Anderson Center. This rural artists' retreat boasts a seriously impressive collection of numbered and hand-signed prints by the likes of Andy Warhol, Henri Matisse, Salvador Dali, Man Ray, Jasper Johns and Joan Miró. But the biggest crowd-pleaser is a festive linocut by Pablo Picasso. "It suggests a Roman festival of Bacchus — dancers, flute players and just general revelry," said Anderson Center director Robert Hedin. 163 Tower Dr., Red Wing; 1-651-388-2009; www.andersoncenter.org

19 "Tripped" at Rochester Art Center. Situated in a striking copper- and zinc-wrapped building, this contemporary art center has earned the admiration of big-city art lovers. There's no permanent collection — just smartly curated exhibitions featuring living artists from Minnesota and beyond. The current show is a survey of 60 portraits by St. Paul-based Melba Price, a midcareer artist specializing in people's private moments of discomfort or embarrassment. 40 Civic Center Dr. SE., Rochester; 1-507-282-8629; www.rochesterartcenter.org

20 "Washington Crossing the Delaware" at Minnesota Marine Art Museum. There are two surviving versions of this world-famous 1851 painting by German-American artist Emanuel Leutze. One hangs in the Met in NYC. The other now resides in southeast Minnesota, thanks to the founders of this Winona museum, the husband-and-wife team of Mary Burrichter and Bob Kierlin. "It's been hanging in the White House for the last 30 years," said Megan Emery, another conservator for MACC. "It was literally taken off their walls to come here." Other museum highlights include a lovely watercolor by Claude Monet and a deep collection of paintings representing the Hudson River Valley movement. 800 Riverview Dr., Winona; 1-507-474-6626; www.mmam.org