The Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art, located on the southeast corner of Kansas State University’s picturesque campus, welcomed me with Dale Chihuly’s Chandelier, a 1,600 pounds work made by over 300 pieces of hand-blown glass. The special exhibition, Following the Sun: The Art of Sue Jean Covacevich 1905-1998, featured works of various media by Covacevich, a native of Wellington, Kansas, who spent a decade working in Mexico before establishing herself as an artist and art educator in Winfield, Kansas. An untitled wooden classroom sign by Covacevich with elegant engravings of Edna Casler Joll’s Every Child Should Know a Hill gobbled my attention.

Every Child Should Know Some Scrap Of Uninterrupted Sky To Shout Against; And Have One Star, Dependable And Bright, For Wishing On.

The Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art, a postmodern style architecture designed by Moore/Adnersson Architects of Austin, Texas, was made possible with a generous lead gift from Ross and Marianna Beach of Hays, Kansas. The museum was opened in the fall of 1996, focusing on art of Kansas and the region.