Lutheran Heritage > Thrivent Financial Collection of Religious Art
Thrivent Financial Collection of Religious Art
The Thrivent Financial Collection of Religious Art is comprised of over 800 works on paper of religious subject matter. The prints and drawings range from 13th century Illuminated Manuscripts to Early Modern prints, Renaissance and Baroque, to 20th century Modern and German Expressionist prints. Prints by Albrecht Dürer and Rembrandt van Rijn form a large portion of the collection. Other artists included are Lucas Cranach, Hendrik Goltzius, Lucas van Leyden, Edouard Manet, George Bellows, Pablo Picasso and many others. The breadth of this unique and exceptional collection is expressed partly in its diversity of artists and partly in its strength in Old Master prints and drawings.
The collection began in 1982 when retired Lutheran pastor Rev. Richard L. Hillstrom, also an art collector, began collecting religious prints and drawings on behalf of Lutheran Brotherhood. Rev. Hillstrom was the sole collector, curator, and heart of the collection for nearly 20 years. Joanna Reiling Lindell joined Rev. Hillstrom in 2002. She is curator of the collection, and has a background in art history, English, and Theology. Rev. Hillstrom has retired from the collection.
This collection represents an integral and significant part of the Twin Cities arts community. The specific art historical and theological nature of the collection combine to create one of the most educationally significant religious print and drawing collections in the country. The collection has been utilized internationally by museums, educators, and historians in exhibitions, lectures, and scholarly publications. Art & Auction magazine named the Thrivent Collection among the top 100 corporate collections in the country at one time. With a remarkable historical and stylistic range, this collection stands as a preeminent example of corporate art collections.
Because Thrivent Financial for Lutherans offers a number of insurance and financial services to Lutherans and has historical ties with the Lutheran Church, it seems fitting that its art collection should reflect this relationship in its religious content. It is this that contributes to the unique nature of the collection among corporate art collections and has established it as being among the most significant collections of its kind in the country. Our hope is that the collection will continue to reflect Thrivent’s commitment to the cause of education and culture and that it will be a source of pleasure and spiritual enrichment.
Employees and visitors to the Thrivent Financial corporate headquarters in Minneapolis can enjoy many of the works by visiting the Religious Art Gallery. The hours are Monday through Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Curator Joanna Reiling Lindell can be contacted in advance for individual or group tours of the collection.
While at the Thrivent Financial Minneapolis Corporate Center, feel free to visit our two public art galleries located on our 1st and 2nd floors. Thrivent Financial invites various artists to show their works in our galleries. New art and artists are changed each month.
Joanna Reiling Lindell
Curator, Collection of Religious Art
Thrivent Financial for Lutherans
625 Fourth Ave. S., Suite 1290
Minneapolis, MN 55415
Direct: 612-844-8072
Fax: 612-844-8458
joanna.lindell@thrivent.com
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