Melynda Seaton has been named curator/administrator of the Great Plains Art Museum. Seaton is a doctoral student in art history at the University of Oklahoma where her focus is art of the American West.
“Melynda is an ideal match for us, because she will bring to the museum a rich background from working in arts organizations and institutions as well as an academic perspective that will more closely link the museum to the Center for Great Plains Studies’ research programs,” said Richard Edwards, director of the Center for Great Plains Studies, the parent organization of the Great Plains Art Museum.
Seaton has a master’s degree in art history from the University of North Texas. She previously spent time at the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art at the University of Oklahoma, the Art Institute of Dallas and the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson, Wyo.
“I am excited to be joining the team at the Center for Great Plains Studies at the University of Nebraska,” Seaton said. “This curatorial position connects directly to my academic research in art of the American West and provides me the opportunity to develop exhibitions and programming that incites interest in arts of the Great Plains region.”
The Great Plains Art Museum’s mission is to collect, preserve, research and interpret the art of the Great Plains region and to foster study and enhance appreciation of the history and creative spirit of the Great Plains of North America.
The museum’s collection consists of bronze sculptures, paintings and drawings, other works on paper and photographs, and includes artwork by Albert Bierstadt, William de la Montagne Cary, Robert F. Gilder, William Henry Jackson, Frederic Remington and Charles M. Russell.
The Great Plains Art Museum, 1155 Q St., is free and open to the public. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 1:30 to 5 p.m. Sundays; it is closed on Mondays and major holidays. For more information, call 402-472-6220 or visit http://www.unl.edu/plains.
