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Art in city hall
by Mark Steil, Minnesota Public Radio
April 25, 2003

This sculpture looks like pioneer life in the U.S., but it depicts a scene in Uruguay. (MPR Photo/Mark Steil)

Walk into city hall in Montevideo, and among the offices and council chambers you'll see art. South American art. Uruguayan art, to be specific. The sculpture, paintings and photographs tell several stories. One is the long-standing relationship between the southwest Minnesota community and the South American city it was named for. Another is that of a Minnesota native and his overseas adventures.

Montevideo, Minn. — Electronic chatter blurts out from scanners in Montevideo's police office. But nearby in city hall is the quietness of old art. Paintings dot the walls, sculptures perch on stands. Glass display cases contain cultural items.

One statue shows a team of oxen struggling to pull a covered wagon out of a mudhole. It seems to recall Minnesota's pioneer days. But like all the items here, it was created in Uruguay.

	Art and politics

Another statue shows a man and woman on horseback. The man peers into the distance, one raised hand shading his eyes. Behind the sculpture, on a glass window, is a sign that says Council Chambers. Montevideo resident Joyce Hagberg translates the Spanish inscription on the statue.

"It appears that it's from the department of Montevideo, Uruguay, given to Ambassador Dawson, in 1946," says Hagberg.

The "ambassador" was William Dawson. Born in St. Paul, he spent a good part of his life outside the state -- outside the country, in fact. Dawson was part of the nation's diplomatic corps. In the 1940s he was U.S. ambassador to Uruguay. He was stationed in the city which gave the Minnesota town its name -- Montevideo. While there, Dawson took an interest in art, according to former Montevideo city council member Arnie Anderson.

	A Uruguayan hero is honored in Montevideo

"The ambassador to Uruguay was there a long time, and he collected all the things you see here," says Anderson. "I guess he figured that the appropriate place would be in the namesake. And so it was given to us. He kept sending more and more and more and more, so that it became a tremendous collection."

Most of the pieces were donated to the city in the 1970s. Besides art, the collection includes books, ceremonial medallions and other items. Anderson says the city needs to find a permanent home for the collection.

"Possibly someday maybe a little addition to this building," says Anderson. "A place where it'll be readily accessible to people."

So far there are no plans for a permanent home. City manager Steven Jones says originally the collection was stored in the old Carnegie Library building. There, it was mostly out of sight. Groups or individuals had to request a showing to see the pieces. With its higher visibility at city hall, Jones says the city is taking steps to protect the collection.

	A bit of Uruguay in Montevideo

"If it's something we're not going to show very often, we'll probably put it in protective materials or a protective box," says Jones. "If it's something we're going to show a lot, we'll do whatever needs to be done. For example, in city hall all the lights now have UV protection, so pictures won't wear out and that type of thing." Jones is surprised how the hundreds of pieces of Uruguyan art seem to attract other donations. The most significant is a limited edition print of a Pablo Picasso sketch. It hangs on a wall overlooking the work cubicles of city employees.

This has always been a town with residents who look beyond the city limits. The community was named by a sailor who had visited Uruguay's largest city.

Translated, "Montevideo" means "I see a hill." When the sailor settled in southwest Minnesota, he decided the name would do nicely for the hilly river town. In commemoration, a statue of one of Uruguay's national heroes stands on the mainstreet of Montevideo, Minnesota.

	A plaza in Montevideo, Uruguay

In the 1940s, the city established a sister relationship with the Uruguayan capitol. That impressed Ambassador Dawson, and helped convince him that Montevideo was where his art collection should go. City manager Jones is happy he did.

"Some of them are one-of-a-kind pieces. We have, for example, one pottery piece. Franklin Delano Roosevelt was given one, we have the other. We have some paintings that are one of a kind, from some of the masters of Uruguay," says Jones. "But we're still trying to ferret out some of that stuff, because we're slowly but surely just finding out about some of the pieces now."

Jones says despite tough budget times, Montevideo officials have never thought about selling the collection. He says they intend to keep it as a legacy for future generations.

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