UMD’s Tweed Museum of Art Gets Gifts From Duluth Street Photographer D. R. Martin

Duluth, MN – University of Minnesota Duluth’s Tweed Museum of Art and College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences (CAHSS) announced the addition of works
by 12 artists to the museum’s permanent collection.

D. R. Martin photograph donated to UMD’s Tweed Museum

The additions include gifts and purchases of ceramics, photographs, sculpture, drawings, works on paper, and prints.

One of the key addition are gifts of prints, negatives, and digital files from street photographer D. R. Martin, who began his artistic practice in Duluth in the late 1960s.

Interim dean of the College of Arts Humanities, and Social Sciences Jennifer Brady said, “These exciting acquisitions will enrich the experience of UMD students and community members for years to come… We are grateful to the generous supporters and artists who helped make this possible, as well as the leadership of the Tweed Museum of Art.”

As a high school student in Duluth, D. R. Martin was inspired by French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson.   In the late 1960s, he bought a 35mm camera and began capturing candid street photos in Duluth, the Twin Cities, and across Europe.

Nearly 25 years later, Martin discovered the negatives in a shoebox in his basement and decided to share his work.

Since then, his photos have been featured in six exhibitions, including one at the Duluth Art Institute. But for Martin, seeing his work find a permanent home at the Tweed is a full circle moment.

“The Tweed has always had a special place in my heart,” said Martin. “I take satisfaction in thinking even if I’m not around 5, 10, 50 years from now people could be looking at this stuff and reflecting on it and hopefully be moved by it.”

The Tweed also acquired works by nine contemporary artists, including Elise Ferguson, Beverly Fishman, Michelle Gregor, Terri Loewenthal, Elspeth Schulze, Davina Semo, Nastassja Swift, and Toshiko Takaezu.

Also purchased is a print by internationally exhibited, Grand Marais-based artist Andrea Carlson. Working primarily on paper with many mediums, Carlson draws on her Ojibwe ancestry to explore cultural narratives, institutional authority, and the power of storytelling.

The new acquisitions will be on view in various exhibitions at the Tweed Museum of Art over the next year.