Pop art icon leaves his mark in Fargo

Posted at 10:24 AM on October 8, 2010 by Dan Gunderson
Filed under: Arts, Northwest Minnesota

Photo courtesy Plains Art Museum

The Plains Art Museum in Fargo unveiled a major new work this week. Pop art icon James Rosenquist painted a 13 by 24 foot mural entitled North Dakota Mural.

An anonymous donor kicked in $600,000 for the work.

Unfortunately, the 76-year-old artist had to cancel his visit to Fargo because he came down with pneumonia. He plans to visit Fargo later in October to talk about his work.

Rosenquist was born in Grand Forks, and he went to school at the University of Minnesota and the Minneapolis School of Art before heading off to New York where he worked as a sign painter on his way to becoming an influential figure in the pop art movement.

An interesting note: It took two tries for Rosenquist to paint North Dakota Mural. The first was destroyed last year in a fire at his Florida studio. Rosenquist says the second effort turned out better. He called it "a zinger".

Rosenquist's larger than life works are in famous museums around the world, and now in Fargo.