Early in our relationship, we discovered that we had some common likes and curiosities. These included art, museums, zoos and cultural activities. Early in our marriage, we were in the Air Force and were assigned to Offutt AFB just south of Omaha, Nebraska. One of the surprises of Omaha was the Joslyn Museum. At the museum, Kathy discovered a print signed by Toulouse-Lautrec. The price of the print was $150 – not much by today’s standards, but approximately one-third of our joint monthly income, so we passed.
The major surprise was an exhibit of works by George Catlin (1796-1872) who had visited more than 140 American Indian tribes in the Plains, and painted portraits of members of the tribes and their life activities.
Without his paintings, we, as citizens of the United States, would never have known this part of our national heritage. We later saw his work in museums and galleries in the Southwest.
We started a habit, in our travels, to visit museums and art galleries. One of our favorite art galleries was the Country Store Gallery which specialized in Western Art, but that is a separate conversation.
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