Related events:

The Mississippi in Story and Song
Mark Neuzil, Patrick Nunnally, and Bob Douglas
Sunday, December 30, 2:00 p.m.
The Mississippi River has served as subject, setting, and inspirational source for generations of visual artists, writers, and musicians. In the first part of this program, Mark Neuzil and Patrick Nunnally share stories of the river from literature and legend. Spanning several centuries, their tales include explorers’ accounts, Mark Twain’s commentary, contemporary writers, and the stories of "river rats." Mark Neuzil is curator of The Vanished Mississippi and author of Views on the Mississippi: The Photographs of Henry Peter Bosse. Patrick Nunnally is a Mississippi River specialist, and a teacher and consultant whose work focuses on interpretation and planning for rivers, trails, and scenic byways.

The second part of the program features musician Bob Douglas, a founding member of Garrison Keillor’s Powdermilk Biscuit Band. Douglas plays guitar and mandolin tunes about the river from the 1840s to the early 20th century, including "Mississippi Sawyer," "Buffalo Gals," "Dubuque," and many more.

Building the River of Empire: Remaking the Upper Mississippi
John Anfinson
Sunday, January 13, 2:00 p.m.
In this slide lecture, John Anfinson chronicles the history of the Mississippi River and efforts by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to alter its course and flow for navigation. He discusses the river as Henry Bosse documented it, detailing environmental changes into the 20th century when the lock and dam system was built. Anfinson is historian for the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area and has been involved in studying the river for over 20 years. He played a role in the rediscovery of Henry Bosse’s photographs in the 1990s. His latest book, with the working title The River We Have Wrought: The Upper Mississippi to 1940, will be published next year by the University of Minnesota Press.

Opening Reception & Program
Sunday, October 7, 2:00-5:00 p.m.
Exhibition viewing, refreshments, and music by The Showed Up Band 2:30 p.m. Remarks by Don Shelby, news anchor for WCCO-TV 2:45 p.m. The Mississippi River in Henry Bosse's Day: Photographs of Environmental Upheaval, slide lecture by Mark Neuzil, exhibition curator and author of Views on the Mississippi: The Photographs of Henry Peter Bosse 4:00 p.m. Walking tour of the riverfront with David Wiggins from the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area.
Free; R.S.V.P. by calling the Weisman events line at 612-626-4747.

Lecture
Beauty Works: The Photographs of Henry Peter Bosse and the Romance of Progress
Merry Forresta
Sunday, November 4, 2:00 p.m.
In this slide lecture, Merry Forresta shows how Bosse's photographs of the Mississippi River landscape went beyond identifying geological formations and mapping territories, to provide invaluable records of the awesome engineering feats required for progress after the Civil War. These photographs powerfully communicated the human relationship to this landscape and helped create a uniquely American romance with progress that continues today. Forresta is the senior curator of photography for the International Art Museum Division of the Smithsonian Institution. She has curated many landscape photography exhibitions, including Between Home and Heaven: Contemporary American Landscape Photography, in 1992.