Topographical State Model Donated to Museum

By Helen Brown

On June 15, a letter was received from Allan McCollum, New York City, NY, addressed to the Morton County Historical Museum. The letter read, "I would like to donate a small topographical model of the state of Kansas to your society, if you have a use for it. I have enclosed a photograph of it with this letter.

"The model measures approximately 3 x 24 x 24 inches, and is brand new. It is made from fiber-reinforced cast plaster, and is coated with white primer, ready to be painted in whatever way is best suited to your needs (exhibit display, educational aid, signage, or whatever).

"The cast was taken from a model of Missouri created from computerized Geographical Information Systems data, and is scientifically accurate to a fair degree. The heights of the geological features have been exaggerated slightly, to give a better picture of the elevations across the state.

"I am an artist from New York, and a number of these models were made for an exhibition at a Kansas City gallery called Grandarts. I am hoping a few of them can find a use beyond the boundaries of the art world.

"I am planning to take a road trip through the state of Missouri in August, and it would be a pleasure for me to bring the model to you, should you be interested in accepting the gift."

"I was immediately intrigued with this unique idea and contacted Mr. McCollum to tell him that the museum was definitely interested in receiving this gift."

Last Sunday, Mr McCollum and his distribution assistant (and chauffeur) Cydney Millstein, Kansas City, MO, made an appointment to meet and present the model. The model was larger than anticipated and quite heavy.

McCollum stated that he expected the model would be most useful set horizontally on a flat surface, which we plan to do, but just in case someone might like to try hanging it on a wall, he embedded some hanging wire in the back.

The wire is stainless steel aircraft cable and the ends (which are not visible) are securely wrapped around two large metal washers. We were told the cable should hold at least 200 pounts without a problem, still they never thoroughly tested it in all conditions, so cannot guarantee it's safety.

Evidently, several museums in Southwest kansas took advantage ot this opportunity, as Cydney stated they were delivering 25 this weekend, or that is what I understood.

 


Artist Allan McCollum of New York City, N.Y. donated a topographical model of the state of Kansas, bottom photo, to the Morton County Historical Museum. The model was made for an exhibition at a Kansas City gallery called Grandarts.

Prior to coming to Elkhart, they stopped at Johnson, Garden City and Hugoton, and then were traveling to Liberal, Meade, Ashland, Ness City and additional stops not mentioned.

I will, of course, discuss my plan with the USDA Forest Serviice, but I would like to have the 108,000 acres of Cimarron National Grassland locale highlighted, with the Santa Fe Trail drawn across the state of Kansas showing strategic historical points across Kansas and the SFT Auto Tour on Hwy. 56. Then, perhaps, it would be possible to show the Forest Service's Auto Tour on the Grassland. We have so many requests for that information. Since we are on the"high" side of the state, the 3-D view would show why travel was so slow, even though the lay of the land looks flat. Wagons and travelers were climbing all the way across Kansas.

The only request by the artist was that an agreement be signed stating that "MCHS Museum receive and accept the gift from Allan McCollum in 'as is' condition, and hereby agrees to hold Mr. McCollum free of all liability for any damages that may result from any use or misuse of the object; we also understand and hereby agree and acknowledge that Mr. McCollum makes no warranty as to the durability of the object or to the safety or functionality of it's hanging hardware." The agreement was signed, gratefully.

Mr. McCollum and Ms. Millstein took time to look at the museum and were very impressed, especially with the Santa Fe Trail room and murals. Donations and visitors comments like this are what make the Museum staff's jobs so enjoyable and worthwhile.