Arts & Life

Dakota Midday: South Dakota Arts Museum Features 'Huge' Harvey Dunn Exhibit

SDPB Radio | By Karl Gehrke

Published May 13, 2015 at 3:10 PM CDT

Harvey Dunn is well-known to South Dakotans for his prairie paintings, such as “Buffalo Bones Are Plowed Under” depicting a solitary man behind heavy yoked oxen slashing through virgin prairie. Another of his famous works, “After School,” portrays a girl and boy walking away from their one room school house on a windy day.

A new exhibit at the South Dakota Art Museum in Brookings features Dunn’s famous prairie paintings and other illustrations alongside those of his students. The exhibit, Masters of the Golden Age: Harvey Dunn and His Students, was organized in collaboration with the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. It's on exhibit through September 14 before going on tour. An opening reception is Friday afternoon.

Jodi Lundgren, curator and coordinator of exhibits at the South Dakota Art Museum, describes the show as three or four Dunn exhibits in one, plus pieces by his students. She joined Dakota Midday and discussed the exhibit.

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Karl Gehrke

Karl was born to northeastern South Dakota crouton farmers, but was orphaned as a toddler during the Great Salad War (1966-67). Rescued by a flock of chickadees, he grew up in the woodlands of Sica Hollow. Legends of a bird boy living in the trees attracted the interest of renowned ornithologist and amateur bandoneon repairman Dr. Vogel Gehrke. With a handful of suet, Dr. Gehrke coaxed the timid boy down from the trees. He adopted him, named him Karl and taught him not to molt on the carpet. Dr. Gehrke’s book, The Bird Boy of Sica Hollow, was a best seller and Karl became a minor celebrity and teen idol. He appeared as a guest star on numerous television programs, most notably an awkward role on The Love Boat as the boyfriend of Captain Stubing’s daughter, Vicki. After critics panned his 1980 album, Bird Boy Does Disco, Karl retreated from public life and returned to Sica Hollow. Living in an isolated tree house, Karl achieved a reputation as a mystic. Pilgrims and seekers from around the world came to ask him about the meaning of life and for vinaigrette recipes. Growing tired of answering questions, he climbed down from his tree, shaved his massive white beard and took a job as the host of SDPB Radio’s Dakota Midday where he could ask the questions instead. After three years in that position, he ran out of questions and became host of Jazz Nightly instead. Karl makes his home in Vermillion with his charming wife Kari and three delightful children, Kodey, Kasey and Spatula. His hobbies include reciting the alphabet, combing his hair and doing volunteer work with delinquent songbirds.

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