Joslyn Art Museum

I parked near the boat launch on E Main St. in Plattsmouth, NE. Every two hours throughout the night, I heard someone drive to the end of the road and then turn around. The last two times, I got up to see who it was. It looked like a city white truck. There were other vehicles parked in the lot, but they were all empty.

In the morning, I stopped at a Starbucks for a bagel and coffee while I worked on a blog post. Afterward, I headed to the Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha, NE.

Joslyn Art Museum

I knew very little about this museum going in and didn’t have high expectations. At the entrance, a woman handed me a brochure and asked me to check in at the desk. To my surprise, admission was free. They did have a special exhibition of local prairie artists for $10, but the main museum was open at no cost. She asked for my zip code, smiled, and said, “Enjoy your visit.”

History of the Museum

The Joslyn Art Museum was a gift to Omaha from Sarah Joslyn, who wanted to honor her husband, George, a successful businessman in the printing industry (see their home the Joslyn Castle). Construction began in 1928, and the museum officially opened its doors in 1931 at a cost of about $3 million—a staggering sum for the time, especially during the Great Depression. The building itself is made of pink Etowah Fleuri marble, which gives it a distinctive and elegant look. Over the decades, the museum has expanded, most notably in 1994 with the Walter and Suzanne Scott Pavilion, which doubled its size and gave it the ability to showcase larger contemporary collections and traveling exhibitions. Today, Joslyn stands as one of the premier art institutions in the Midwest.

My first stop was at the café, where I ordered mushroom risotto and a cappuccino. I grabbed a seat outside. While waiting for my food, a woman named Evelynn asked if the seats at the other end of the table were free. Her husband, Jim, joined her, followed shortly by his aunt. They were from the eastern shore of Maryland. When I mentioned I had gone to the University of Maryland, Evelynn lit up. Their son was working at Electric Boat in Groton, Connecticut, which gave us more to talk about. After finishing my meal, I wished them a great visit.

Inside the Museum

The museum has a surprisingly broad collection. The European galleries include Renaissance and Baroque works, with strong pieces from Italian, French, and Spanish artists. There’s also a rich collection of 19th-century American art, with landscape paintings that capture the spirit of the Great Plains. There’s a Native American collection, which felt grounded in the region and included pottery, beadwork, and modern Native voices alongside historic artifacts.

Of all the sections, I enjoyed the modern and contemporary galleries the most. The abstract works, with bold colors and big shapes, had an energy that felt alive in the space. It was a good counterbalance to the traditional European art that can feel heavy after a while.

Outside, I wandered through the sculpture garden. I was surprised to see a piece by Kenneth Snelson. Back in the ’70s, I photographed his Needle Tower at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C. I entered it in a photo contest and didn’t even receive an honorable mention. Ironically, a few months later a similar photo appeared in Popular Photography—and won first place. Snelson’s work has stuck with me ever since.

The entire museum was beautiful, and it ended up being much more rewarding than I expected.

This was my last stop in Nebraska before heading into Missouri. I had a three-hour drive ahead of me. I was still feeling a little rundown from the COVID and flu shots I had gotten yesterday. I found a place to park north of Kansas City in the lot of a conservation area. Along the way, I stopped twice—once for gas and a salad, and once to pull over at a turnaround and nap for an hour. That’s the nice thing about having a van: you can just stop when you need to.

I arrived at the the Platte Falls Consrvation Area North of Kansas City, MO around 8:30. It was pitch black in a large dirt lot, surprisingly quiet, with clear skies overhead.