Third grade show-and-tell might have changed Nebraskan Todd Williams' life.
That was the first time Williams can recall showing other people his artwork. Encouraging words from his teacher and classmates inspired him from that young age to pursue the arts.
After graduating from Central City High School, Williams completed an associate in fine arts degree from Central Community College in Columbus. At that point, he went to the Institute of Art in Kansas City. While Williams left Nebraska, his love for his home state would never leave him.
A Hallmark internship led him to illustrate for Dayspring cards. After a decade spent inspiring others through greeting cards, Williams decided to pursue making his own art. Time spent traveling would impact Williams' choice of subjects. Faraway places became his new backdrops. Yet he would always come back to Nebraska.
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In 2011, he decided to show everyone his home state through the eyes of an artist. He knew that Nebraska was rich in history and more diverse than what people saw while driving down the interstate. By painting at least one scene from all 93 Nebraska counties, his planned exhibition would showcase all of Nebraska.
Besides current landscapes, Williams wanted to paint some of the counties with a historical perspective. In 2012, he brought along the first paintings in his proposal to a meeting with Michael Smith, executive director of the Nebraska State Historical Society. Smith immediately liked Williams' idea and thought that his five-year completion plan was interesting in its timing.
“At this point, Smith reminded me that Nebraska would be celebrating its 150th birthday in 2017,” Williams recalled. “I then got in touch with the people working on the Nebraska 150 events, and a partnership developed from there.”
Williams noted that “From then on, everything fell into place and felt like it was a God thing.”
To continue the project, Williams began to travel from county to county throughout Nebraska. He often visited with historical societies for ideas. Everyone had a lot of enthusiasm for the project, and some even suggested subjects for the county paintings. Certain corporate and county foundations sponsored particular paintings, and Williams listened to their input as well.
While creating the series, Williams did complete several paintings in plein-air, and those paintings are noted on his website. Plein-air paintings are completed outdoors.
He completed other paintings in his studios. Some were based on archival photographs. For others, he hired actual models and would complete photo shoots for his inspiration.
This romanticized view of history added another element to his series. Because Williams was always looking at the bigger picture of the exhibition, he tried to widen his themes beyond the expected Native American, pioneer and railroad paintings. In October 2016, Williams finished painting his final work for the series.
Starting on Nebraska's March 1 birthday, the Nebraska State History Museum will display all of the 123 works of art. After being in Lincoln for a few months, the exhibit will travel to the Stuhr Museum in Grand Island for the summer. Starting in August, the collection will be displayed at Gallery 1516 in Omaha. This is the last time the whole collection will be together. After that, the exhibit will split up into five groups, and venues in David City, Lexington, Beatrice, Fremont and Scottsbluff will each display some of the paintings.
During this time, Williams will often be found with his paintings, presenting live demos along with slide and lecture presentations. He also plans to conduct painting workshops and is willing to schedule more to help additional people see Nebraska through the eyes of an artist.
A book featuring all of the paintings as well as the historical text will be for sale. Nebraska Educational Television will air a documentary about the “Legacy of Nebraska” project. At the end of the scheduled exhibitions, the paintings will also be for sale. Although some were sponsored or pre-purchased, around 60 of the original paintings are still available. Do not despair if your favorite one does not seem to be available. Williams will be offering reproduction canvas giclees of all the paintings. To learn more, visit or .
For Williams, his project mission statement summarizes his hopes for this “Legacy of Nebraska” exhibition: “Legacy, by meaning, is to leave a lasting history for the generations to come. It’s what defines us as a people. Centuries have proven there is no greater gift than art in preserving this legacy. It is my hope that this collection of art will be a historical legacy for the entire state of Nebraska for centuries to come.”