This morning William and I headed out to three little towns along the Mississippi.  The ladies we met at the coffee shop yesterday suggested we might like them so off we went this morning.  Our first stop was in Winona, MN.  We were headed to see the Minnesota Marine Art Museum.  We thought we would see a few paintings of the Mississippi River scenes.  Were we ever surprised.

The art museum is home to major works by Picasso, Van Gogh, Monet, Gauguin, Cézanne, Turner, Constable, Leutze (pictured), O’Keeffe, Cassatt, Homer, Cole, Wyeth, and many more. The MMAM is more than you expect!

Although no photography was allowed I can at least share these snapshots of postcards we bought at the museum which were our favorites.

This painting at the museum is one of two surviving original oil on canvas of Washington Crossing the Delaware.  It hung for thirty years at our White House prior to acquisition by MMAM in 2014.  Check your quarters and see if you see it on the back.

This oil on canvas by Edward Moran is titled Commerce of Nations Rendering Homage to Liberty and was created as a way to raise funds for the statue’s base and placement near Ellis Island in New York.  When we first saw this it made us stop dead in our tracks.  It was amazing and we feel honored to have seen the original.

I absolutely loved the play of light and nature in this oil on canvas by James Hope titled Rainbow Falls.

This oil on canvas is by Daniel Ridgeway Knight and is titled The Brook.  Another one of my favorites at the MMAM Museum.

If you are like me you are wondering why this world class art gallery is in a small town along the Mississippi River.  We learned that the major donor of this art is the founder of Fastenal, an American Company based here in Winon, MN.  Now when I see a Fastenal Store I will not think about nuts and bolts but about the artwork that it’s founder loved and shared with his community.

Before leaving town we had to see the Basilica of St. Stanisiaus Kostka.

Our next stop was in Wabasha, MN to visit the National Eagle Center.   This museum sat right on the Mississippi River and was home to many eagles that could no longer live in the wild.  Most of the eagles were treated at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis before finding their home here in the Wabasha center.  The town is named after the Indian Chief Wabasha who was as important to his people as George Washington was to us.

Our speaker and educator was a retired attorney who absolutely loved Eagles!  She was so informative and a wonderful speaker too.

The last town on our list for today’s adventure was Red Wing, MN.  I am sure your first thought about the town was boots!  Yes it is home to Red Wing boots.  There is also a large Duluth Trading Center here in the town.  The drive from Wasbasha to Red Wing was absolutely lovely as we traveled north directly beside the Mississippi River.  I have to admit that by this time we were tired and in no mood to shop so we just enjoyed the drive and then headed back to Rochester for our last evening in MN.  Our next visit we will further explore Red Wing.