Dr. Katherine Crawford Luber Mia’s Nivin and Duncan MacMillan Director & President | Minneapolis Institute Of Art
Dr. Katherine Crawford Luber Mia’s Nivin and Duncan MacMillan Director & President | Minneapolis Institute Of Art
The Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) will host a new exhibition titled “Built to Last: The Shogren-Meyer Collection of American Art” from January 17 to June 14, 2026. The show features about 40 works created during the Great Depression and the years leading up to World War II. These pieces capture themes related to industrial progress in early 20th-century America.
The exhibition draws from the personal collection of Dan Shogren and Susan Meyer, supporters of the arts in the Twin Cities. Their collection focuses on paintings and photographs depicting American industry—especially steel work, manufacturing, and agriculture—from the 1930s and early 1940s.
Spencer Wigmore, Mia’s Patrick and Aimee Butler Associate Curator of American Paintings, commented on the importance of this collection: “The Shogren-Meyer Collection presents a rare and nuanced portrait of industry during the Depression era. These artworks offer a unique glimpse of the varied ways that artists responded to an era characterized by economic hardship, social unrest, and large-scale industrialization.”
Visitors will see works by prominent figures such as Margaret Bourke-White, Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange, and Ben Shahn alongside lesser-known artists including James Penney, Molly Luce, and Louise Pershing. The exhibition includes both government-funded New Deal projects as well as independent works and corporate commissions; some were published in periodicals like LIFE Magazine.
“Built to Last” explores subjects such as industrial landscapes, agriculture, working life, activist imagery, nostalgia for manufacturing jobs, debates about masculinity in labor contexts, social activism and protest movements, as well as issues related to government support or censorship affecting artists. According to Wigmore: “While rooted in a specific historical moment, these works feel strikingly relevant. They reflect ongoing tensions around work, industry, and equity that continue to shape American life today.”
All items on display are loans from the Shogren-Meyer Collection. About ten objects will be rotated midway through the exhibition.
Admission is free at Mia’s Cargill Gallery for this show. Further details can be found at www.artsmia.org.
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