The Tweed Museum of Art, at the University of Minnesota Duluth, houses an outstanding collection of over 6,000 pieces of art from around the world. Prominent Duluth citizen George P. Tweed and his wife Alice collected art for over twenty years. It was thanks to the efforts of Mrs. Tweed, after the death of her husband, that the collection ultimately became the Tweed Museum of Art.

The Tweeds had a fondness for the work of French painter Jean-Francois Millet, and there are several Millets at the Tweed. His work is now considered to be some of the finest examples of the French Barbizon School, named for the small village outside Paris that inspired Millet and his peers.

Mark Twain also had a fondness for Jean-Francois Millet, and wrote a farce about him. Is He Dead? lay in obscurity until Berkeley professors rescued it and helped it find its way to Broadway in 2007.

This spring, enjoy the art of Millet and the entertaining Twain play about him at the University of Minnesota, Duluth. The art is already on display at the Tweed, and Is He Dead? will be at the Mainstage Theatre of the Marshall Performing Arts Center April 22 through May 1, 2010. It’s a good reason to head to our Duluth MN inn.

The Tweed Museum of Art is just a few miles from our Duluth bed and breakfast. If you are coming to town to see your student, check out the Tweed. Should be here at the end of April, you won’t want to miss Is He Dead?.

Will you fill the stands at the UMD Homecoming game this weekend?

It’s Homecoming at the University of Minnesota, Duluth, October 14 – 17. Folks will be coming in from all over the state to celebrate their alma mater, and we hope to see some of you here at our Duluth inn. The Class of 1959 is having their 50th reunion, with many fun events planned, like the Vista Fleet Excursion harbor tour and lunch. And of course, UMN Bulldog fans will be out in force to support the game on Saturday.

With all the activity surrounding Homecoming, it can be easy to overlook an interesting event scheduled for Friday, October 16th. Actress Hilary Swank and director Mira Nair on Friday will be in Montague Hall 70 at 6:15pm to discuss their upcoming film, Amelia, based on the life of pioneer aviator Amelia Earhart. The event is sponsored by The New York Times and is to be a “live webcast”.  It promises to be lively and fun. (more…)