"We left school early… boarded a bus en route to a youth theatre production performed on a stage at the Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha, NE. I was 12 and this was intended as a “cultural outing.” We would witness a play performed by a local high school. I don’t remember the play, but do recall standing in a hallway of the museum for what seemed an eternity. Slowly, I noticed, slightly above my head, large rectangles hanging on the wall. Paintings by artists, I was told. One of them caught my eye. It appeared to be moving. Surrounded by an elaborate golden frame was an atmospheric maelstrom of brushstrokes in blues and greys, balanced by extraordinarily detailed miniature houses, barns and trees. This was a painting of a mountaintop enshrouded by stormy clouds with a small, vulnerable village at its base. It stuck in my memory and only years later did I learn that it was "Storm on Matterhorn," an 1886 painting by Albert Bierstadt. The level of painted detail was uncanny and it is still difficult to believe a human capable of such an accomplishment. I return often to see this painting in my hometown. It remains magical. I will never paint that well, but I keep trying." Nebraska native and St. Paul resident Dan Bruggeman has retired from his faculty position in the fine arts department at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota. During his 30-year career as an artist, he has been awarded numerous grants, including the Minnesota State Arts Board Grant, an Arts Midwest/NEA Visual Art Grant, and a McKnight Foundation Grant. Bruggeman’s work is in many public and private collections, including the Minnesota Historical Society, The Minnesota Museum of American Art, The Museum of Nebraska Art and corporate collections including The 3M Company, General Mills and Securian Financial.