Artist: Charles Beck

This Charles Beck textured and painted wood carving was commissioned in the 1960s by the Walter Olson family, which owned the former Security State Bank in downtown Fergus Falls. This wood carving was displayed in the bank’s reception area.

In 1997, when the bank was remodeled, college art curator Warren Olsen facilitated the purchase of the piece for the M State art collection. “We think art is very important, and we want people exposed to it,” Olsen said at the time. “That is something that most community colleges don’t have. We find that is something students respond to.”

Rebecca Lindholm, then the chief operating officer at the bank, said, “One of our main goals in finding a place for the carving was that it remain in Fergus Falls in a public space where people who know and love Beck’s work could appreciate it. Since Mr. Beck taught at the college for so many years, we are very happy that this piece of his art has found a home here.”