STATE OF MINNESOTA

Office of Governor Mark Dayton

116 Veterans Service Building 20 West 12th Street Saint Paul, MN 55155

October 27, 2016

Members of the Executive Council

Minnesota Historical Society
345 West Kellogg Boulevard
St. Paul, Minnesota 55102
Dear Executive Council Members:
In August, the Capitol Preservation Commission received the final report of its
Subcommittee on Capitol Art, which had been tasked with making recommendations on the
preservation, placement, and use of art in the Minnesota State Capitol. The Commission then
asked the Minnesota Historical Society and the Department of Administration to proceed
with its own internal process to review and consider the future location of art in the Capitol.
I commend the Subcommittee's and the MHS Ad Hoc Committee's efforts to balance
the historical perspectives and interests of stakeholders across the State of Minnesota,
especially involving the murals previously located in the Governor's Reception Room and its
anteroom. Those decisions required difficult considerations by Committee Members.
The Governor's Reception Room in the newly refurbished Capitol will again be a
place of welcome for visitors to the Capitol, as well as a place where Governors will hold
public meetings and press conferences for many years to come. In that respect, it will provide
the context for many important decisions and events affecting Minnesota's government and
its people.
Those realities were considered by the Subcommittee, when discussing the relocation
of "Father Hennepin at the Falls of St. Anthony" and "The Treaty of Traverse des Sioux."
After meeting with Tribal Leaders and others from across the State, the Subcommittee
recommended relocating the two paintings elsewhere in the Capitol, with the expectation that
they be more accurately interpreted. I agree that they should be removed from their previous
locations.
Doing so would leave six remaining murals in the Governor's Reception Room and
anteroom, all of which portray Civil War battle scenes. When the Capitol opened in 1905,
there were approximately 25,000 Civil War veterans living in Minnesota. Those paintings
portrayed one episode of Minnesota's history and rightly honored the heroic sacrifices by
thousands of Minnesotans.
However, I believe that the art in the Governor's Reception Room should be more
welcoming and also more broadly representative of our State's history. It should better
represent the full complexion of our State and a more varied perspective on our history,
geography, and culture.

Voice: (651) 201-3400 or (800) 657-3717

Website: http://mn.goy/goyernor/

Fax: (651) 797-1850

MN Relay (800) 627-3529

An Equal Opportunity Employer

Printed on recycled paper containing 15% post consumer material and state government printed

Members of the Executive Council

October 27, 2016
Page 2

Thus, I urge that none of the previous six paintings in the Governor's Reception
Room or the two in the anteroom be returned to those locations at this time. The Minnesota
Historical Society should engage with the Capitol Preservation Commission to discuss and
design a plan to fill that Room with works of art, which more completely depict our great
State's varied history.

Mark Dayton
Governor