6/13/2025

The Prairie Is Our Garden

"The Prairie Is Our Garden" refers to Harvey Dunn's painting, "The Prairie is My Garden," which captures the human connection to the South Dakota prairie land. It also inspires a symphonic band piece of the same name by Robert W. Smith, which evokes the Great Plains through music. Furthermore, the phrase reflects a broader concept of cultivating and nurturing the prairie as a productive and vital part of the nation.

Elaboration:

Harvey Dunn's Painting:
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The painting depicts a family amidst a blooming prairie, symbolizing a time before extensive cultivation. It has become deeply significant to many South Dakotans, sparking personal connections and memories.
Robert W. Smith's Composition:
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Inspired by Dunn's painting, this musical work for symphonic band is a tone poem that portrays the Great Plains through music. It aims to pay homage to those who built the American West.
The Prairie as a Resource:
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The phrase also represents the prairie as a valuable resource for agriculture, water, minerals, and energy. It emphasizes the importance of understanding and wisely utilizing the prairie's potential.
Cultivating the Prairie:
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The concept of "The Prairie Is Our Garden" also highlights the idea of actively developing and nurturing the prairie landscape, both for its natural beauty and its productive capacity.
Inspiration for gardens:
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The prairie landscape has inspired designers like Piet Oudolf and others to create gardens that are both beautiful and environmentally sustainable. These gardens often incorporate native prairie plants and embrace techniques suited for the realities of climate change.

This video shows the "The Prairie is Our Garden" painting:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yr0ChbLRK3M&t=232s

Cliff Cramp

YouTube · Jan 15, 2014

Any woman who claims South Dakota as her own must see the Harvey Dunn collection.

All the women in our family had a print of "The Prairie Is Our Garden" in their house. ONe year, I bought prints for all my girl cousins.

Anne

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Harvey Dunn Collection

605-688-5423

(1884 - 1952)

Harvey Dunn biography

South Dakota Art Museum Harvey Dunn Collection Online.

Harvey Dunn, the son of homesteaders, studied under the tutelage of Ada Caldwell at South Dakota Agricultural College. With the support and encouragement of Caldwell, Dunn continued his studies at the Chicago Art Institute. Dunn became a successful illustrator, teacher and was one of eight illustrators selected as the official artist for the American Expeditionary Forces during WWI. The South Dakota Art Museum's Dunn Collection is significant in that it consists of prairie paintings that have become the pride of South Dakota. The collection also contains illustrations featured in "Saturday Evening Post" and WWI paintings inspired by his contribution to the American Expeditionary Forces. Dunn's works are nationally regarded not only for their contribution to American illustration but more specifically, to its documentation of the emotion of the early prairie life. The museum was built specifically to house the Harvey Dunn Collection, which was given to the South Dakota State College (now the South Dakota State University) by the artist in 1950 and transferred to the museum in 1970.

The museum cares for the world's largest Harvey Dunn collection with 146 paintings, prints and drawings. Explore the entire Harvey Dunn Collection online: Harvey Dunn Collection Online.

View images from recent Dunn exhibitions here: