Mike Lynch: Finding Aids : MNHS.ORG


	Creator:	Lynch, Mike, 1938-2023, creator.
	Title:	Mike Lynch papers.
	Dates:	1932-2023.
	Language:	Materials in English.
	Abstract:	Personal papers of painter Mike Lynch. Papers include sketchbooks and loose sketch pages; journals; art instruction books; business and sales records; project files, including research on pigments and the Gold Metal Flour Mill Elevator; select prints; other childhood and professional ephemera; materials related to fellow artists and colleagues; sound and visual materials; and clippings scrapbooks.
	Quantity:	12.45 cubic feet (13 boxes and 2 oversize folders, unboxed) and 42 image files: JPEG (21.4 MB), 2 master audio files: WAV (801 MB), 2 user audio files: MP3 (101 MB), 2 master video files: MOV (23.9 GB), and 2 user video files: MP4 (1.2 GB).
	Location:	See Detailed Description for shelf locations.

Mike Lynch was born in Hibbing, Minnesota in 1938 to parents Grace and John Lynch. He studied painting and drawing with Birney Quick and Byron Bradley at the Grand Marais Art Colony, and in the same period, studied with artist-in-residence Fletcher Martin as part of the Minnesota-Duluth Summer Art Program. Lynch attended the Minneapolis School of Art (now the Minneapolis College of Art and Design) from 1957-1958, studying with painter Eric Austen Erickson. In 1963, Lynch studied printmaking at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

In 1979, Mike Lynch established his long-term affiliation with the Groveland Gallery.

Lynch was awarded first prize in printmaking at the Minnesota State Fair in 1968, 1972, and 1989. He also received the McKnight Foundation Fellowships in 1983, 1987, and 1996, and their Distinguished Artist Award for his lifetime achievements in 2003. He additionally received the Bush Foundation Fellowship in 1985, and the Minnesota State Arts Board Fellowship in 1991.

In 1997, Lynch published two illustrated books: Gold Medel Flour: notes from a painting journal and A Few notes on grain elevators.

In 2002 Lynch completed the View of Saint Paul from Indian Mounds Park painting located at the Department of Revenue Building, which was commissioned by the Minnesota Percent for Art in Public Places. Lynch's work is exhibited throughout Minnesota, including the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Walker Art Center, the Minnesota Museum of Art, the Minnesota Historical Society, the Tweed Museum, 3M Company, Honeywell Corp., Wells Fargo Bank, and General Mills.

Mike Lynch passed away on September 8, 2023 at the age of 85.

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These papers are organized into the following sections:


	Sketchbooks, journals, and short stories

	Project files

	Career archive files

	Reviews and reference materials

	Business and sales records

	Robert Kilbride materials

	Sound and visual materials

	Personal items, writings, and diaries

	Artwork, prints, ephemera, and scrapbooks

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Access Restrictions:

Collection materials may only be used at the Special Use table. Consult the reference staff for more information.

The audio and video recordings in copyright in this collection are not available online, but can be accessed upon request for use in the Gale Family Library reading room. Please consult reference staff for more information.

Use Restrictions:

The Minnesota Historical Society does not own copyright to any of the materials in this collection. Consult the reference staff for more information.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Mike Lynch Papers. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Accession Information:

Accession number: 17,786; 17,878; 17,913; 17,921; 17,929; 17,937; 17,963; 17,974; 17,982

Location of Master Files:

Digital masters of the audiovisual material are maintained on the Society's secure digital collections storage servers and are managed and preserved in accordance with archival best practices.

The original audiocassettes and videocassettes were disposed after the material was digitally reformatted into wav and mov files.

Processing Information:

Legacy Amendment logo

Processed by: Leif Kopietz, May 2021, April 2022, April 2024, and April 2025.

Digitization and encoding by: April Rodriguez, September 19, 2024.

Digital audiovisual files transferred from the master audiocassettes and videocassettes by the Minnesota Historical Society for preservation purposes (September 2024).

Digitization was made possible by the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund through the vote of Minnesotans on November 4, 2008.

Catalog ID number: 9989790940204294

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Location

Box

119.G.1.4F

1

Sketchbooks, approximately 1970s-2000s. 9 folders.

Location

Box

119.G.1.5B

2

Sketchbooks, approximately 1970s-2000s. 7 folders.

Art instruction sketchbooks: Drawing designs, Nos. 1-3, undated.

Art instruction journal: Illusions and common drawing errors © Lynch, 1989.

Art instruction sketchbooks, undated.

Location

Box

153.A.15.6F-2

12

Sketchbook: studio and other sketches, early 2000s. 1 volume.

Location

Box

119.G.1.6F

3

Sketchbook pages, approximately 1970s-2000s. 95 items.

Miscellaneous pages removed by the artist from sketchbooks.

Painting journals, 1975-2018. 25 volumes.

Four photographs of teenage Mike Lynch and copy of Mark Twain: The War Prayer with drawings by John Groth, approximately 1955.

Includes four photographs of a teenaged Lynch in his art studio in Grand Marais (approximately 1955) and a copy of Mark Twain: The War Prayer with illustrations by John Groth. On the inside cover Lynch writes, "John Groth taught illustration 1st year Grand Marais. Bought drawing of hand - $3.00. Never cashed check."

Location

Box

153.A.15.6F-2

12

Painting journal, 2006-2010. 1 volume.

Includes plans, sketches, and a short history written by Lynch of the mining and steel industries for Cleveland and Pittsburgh, which was done in preparation for a painting trip that never happened. Other trip notes, song lyrics, and notes regarding Mike Lynch's band are also included.

Location

Box

119.G.1.7B

4

Book of short stories, undated. 1 volume.

Handwritten and illustrated short stories and chapters, including: The Adventures of Dumluck; The Last Shot!; Remnants of the Past; The Doors of Trajidy; Taconite 1940; and The Detroit Sculpture Foundry.

Pigments, approximately 1998. 1 volume.

Handwritten and illustrated treatise on how to make paint and information on pigments found in the Northern Minnesota mines.

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Pages from handwritten and illustrated projects.

Location

Box

119.G.1.7B

4

Design, undated.

Perspective, undated.

Mesabi pigments, 1999, 2002.

Scranton Mine, 2000s.

Painting media, undated.

Drawing, undated.

Pages from journal, 1992. 3 folders.

"Gold Medal Flour: Notes from a painting trip journal and a few notes on grain elevators," by Mike Lynch, 1997.

Photocopies of miscellaneous illustrated pages and letters, undated, 1960s, 1998-1999. 2 folders.

Research materials on Hibbing, iron ore, and Minnesota rocks: minerals.

Flyers made for classes, undated, 1990.

Miscellaneous pages, poetry, letters, musings-illustrated, undated.

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Location

Box

119.G.1.7B

4

Samples from scrapbook album, 1955, 1970, 1992.

Miscellaneous photographs, 1950s-1960s, 1990s.

Correspondence with Mary Abe, 1990-1991.

Mike's childhood drawings, 1948-approximately 1950s.

Biographies and exhibition lists, 1986-2000s.

Exhibition catalogues, 1980s-2000s.

Exhibition announcements, 1980s-2000s.

Prizes and awards, 1952-1954, 1993, 2003.

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Location

Box

119.G.1.7B

4

"How to draw," by Alexander Murray, 1932.

Reviews and articles, 1950s-2010s. 2 folders.

Reference materials regarding artist Gilbert Stuart.

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Location

Box

119.G.1.7B

4

Income and expenses, 1977-1980. 1 volume.

Location

Box

119.G.1.8F

5

Groveland Gallery sales and statements, 1980-2007. 2 check and bank statement boxes.

Project card file, 1955-2018. 1 card file box.

Records of sales and customers, which include handwritten thumbnail sketches for many of the paintings made for clients.

Location

Box

127.B.15.1B

9

McKnight Award, 2003.

Minnesota Artists Exhibition Program Gallery (MAEP) show, approximately.

Business, 1979-2008. 31 folders.

Lighthouse, Inc., undated.

Groveland Gallery on consignment and sales, 1985-1990.

Department of Transportation commission, 2000-2001.

Groveland Gallery miscellaneous papers, undated, 1981-2006. 18 folders.

Art Lending Gallery, Mary Lundrigan, undated, 1979-1981.

Income and expenses ledgers, 1981-1989, 1994-2007, 2013-2014. 3 folders.

Location

Box

127.B.15.2F

10

Agreements, rights correspondence, and artwork loans, lists, and information, undated, 2017-2018.

Mike's artwork: Map of the ore dumps, undated, 1951, 1960.

Includes printed digital scans of Mike Lynch's, "Map showing: a portion of the Scranton Dumps or the 'West Dumps' as they were sometimes known," and assorted reference maps of Hibbing and the surrounding area.

Studio building construction, 2003.

House and studio, 2003.

Ledger, 1979-1980, 1987, 1996-2002, 2013. 1 volume.

Hand-written advice on supplies for sketching, with drawings, a watercolor, undated.

Carved woodblock, undated.

Artist statement commentary and photocopies of journal entries, undated.

Location

Box

153.A.15.6F-2

12

Supplies ledger, 2015-2017. 1 volume.

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Includes materials related to artist Robert Kilbride, who co-founded the Kilbride-Bradley Art Gallery of Minneapolis with Mike Lynch's mentor Byron Bradley. Mike Lynch presented his first solo exhibition at the gallery in 1960 and again in 1963. Kilbride remained a close colleague and collaborator with Lynch, and both artists featured their work together at the Groveland Gallery.

Location

Box

127.B.15.1B

9

The Potboiler newsletter, 1960-1967. 2 folders.

Newsletter of the Kilbride-Bradley Art Gallery. Robert Kilbride was the creator and editor of the newsletter.

Location

Box

153.A.15.6F-2

12

"Animal Kingdumb," by Robert Kilbride and art work samples, undated.

Illustrated short story and artwork samples created by Robert Kilbride.

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Location

Internet

Digital photographs, early 2000s. 42 image files: JPEG (21.4 MB).

Ashfield Apartments.jpg

AshfieldApartments.JPG

House by the Road.jpg

House by the Tracks.jpg

HousebytheRoad.JPG

HousebytheTracks.JPG

HouseNight.JPG

Houses by the Tracks.jpg

Rooms and Apartments.jpg

Location

Box

127.B.15.2F

10

Oil and watercolor paintings slides, miscellaneous photographs, undated, 1963-2005.

Mike Lynch portrait and teenage years photographs, undated, 1950s, 1970s, 1980.

Mike Lynch slides of pictures - Oils, 1989-2007.

Photographs: personal, portrait, still life, artwork, undated, 1930s-1970s, 2010s.

Watercolor - slides, 1970s-1990s. 2 folders.

Slides: Revenue, Transportation, Hassler-Staggaford flood, undated, 1990s-2002.

Oils - slides, 1958-1989.

Still life arrangement photographs, 2019.

Location

Box

119.G.1.8F

5

Photograph scrapbook, 1980s-1990s. 1 volume.

Location

Box

127.B.15.3B

11

Miscellaneous slides and negatives, undated.

Case 1. Project slides. 1 case containing 16 slide boxes:

Artists work oils, 1970-1979.

Sioux Falls.

Night views.

St. Paul.

Night suite. 2 slide boxes.

Winter Street.

Stearns County.

Duluth.

Midwest.

Split Rock view from southwest and by houses, tracks.

Untitled slides.

Pillsbury's Best Flour.

Venus Coffee, 2006.

Sven miscellaneous and oil panel.

Split Rock.

Case 2. Project slides. 1 case containing 13 slide boxes:

Basilica freeway.

Minneapolis views.

Artist in residence, Sioux Falls, Shelly.

Ships.

St. Mary's photographs.

Drawings.

Building venus.

Venus miscellaneous.

Mural - South Dakota.

Pioneer Elementary.

Bonne and Kenney.

Split Rock paintings.

Kasota Avenue night shift.

Case 3. Project slides. 1 case containing 12 slide boxes:

Student work.

Black Forest.

Ships.

Still life negatives.

Slides to paintings.

Minnesota Department Transportation documentation, May 31, 2000.

LDSP photographs.

Grain elevators, rail roads.

Hibbing.

Power lines.

City views - oil tanks.

Duluth.

Location

Internet

Audio recordings:

Open-Air painting interview of Mike Lynch, KUOM, April 17, 1992. 1 master audio file (59 minutes, 59 seconds): WAV (302 MB) and 1 user audio file: MP3 (37.7 MB).

Lynch at Bethel College, May 5, 1993. 1 master audio file (1 hour, 38 minutes): WAV (499 MB) and 1 user audio file: MP3 (63.3 MB).

Container note: Mike Lynch talk at Bethel College May 5, 1993, to a group of senior art majors. Invited by Thaddeus B. Dahlberg, one of the students.

Video recordings:

Wilensky Arts reunion, December 4, 2004. 1 master video file (22 minutes, 45 seconds): MOV (5.1 GB) and 1 user video file: MP4 (225.2 MB).

Container note: Filmed by Tracy Weshandis.

Video quality not good, ends abruptly.

Lynch and Willie Murphy at the Minneapolis Art Institute, undated. 1 master video file (1 hour, 22 minutes): MOV (18.8 GB) and 1 user video file: MP4 (825 MB).

Video quality not good, ends abruptly.

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Location

Box

127.B.15.3B

11

Wedding reception invitation: Mike and Ann Lynch, February 20, 1985.

"The Clubhouse" flyer, Groveland Gallery, 1995.

A short note is included with the flyer, and provides background on the people and the history of the establishment featured in the artwork.

Black Forest design, undated.

Includes matchbook with the Black Forest Inn logo, which Mike Lynch helped design. A note on the design and Mike's history and support of the Black Forest Inn is included with the matchbook.

Artist biographies, exhibit invitations and flyers, and photographs, undated, 1952, 1970s-2020s.

Mike Lynch postcard collection, mostly Iron Range, undated, 1980s.

Progress record of Michael Lynch (1944-1950), Hibbing Public Schools, and the Minneapolis School of Art official grade report (1955), 1944-1950 and August 12, 1955.

My Last Will and Testament, Harry Michael Lynch, May 27, 1953.

Miscellaneous writing, undated, 1992.

"Mai ties at the Dykeman," undated.

"The Story," undated.

Dictums, undated.

Quotations, undated.

Personal diaries, 2019, 2021-2023. 3 volumes.

A short list of highlights is inserted in each diary. The 2022 diary includes a few loose entries from January 2023.

Leaving home: A collection of Lake Wobegon stories by Garrison Keillor with inscription and various personal items, undated, 1987, 1989.

Includes a copy of the book with an inscription written by Garrison Keillor to Mike Lynch, and numerous items inserted into the front cover, including: an invitation for a dinner cruise from Keillor (undated), ticket stubs and flyer for the Prairie Home Companion (undated, June 6, 1987), Star Tribune clipping regarding Garrison Keillor (June 12, 1989), and a postcard from Garrison Keillor to Mike Lynch from Denmark (undated).

The Book of guys, stories by Garrison Keillor with inscription, approximately 1993.

Includes an inscription written by Garrison Keillor to Mike Lynch: "To Mike Lynch, the Illuminator of Lake Wobegon."

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Location

Box

118.E.3.1B-1

6

Childhood drawings, age 10, 1948.

Childhood drawing, 1955.

Gold Medal Elevator book flats, 1997. 2 folders.

Gold Medal Elevator plans, maps, booklet, and related ephemera, approximately 1997.

"Lake Wobegan days," by Garrison Keillor and illustrated by Mike Lynch, The Atlantic, August 1985.

Child asleep, Mike Lynch, pencil, 1986.

Sketch of Mike Lynch's son Tommy Lynch.

Pencil sketch: Marshall Street off Lowry NE, June 12, 1991.

Location

Box

118.E.3.1B-2

7

Books with cover illustrations by Mike Lynch:

The Staggerford flood by Jon Hassler, 2002. 1 volume.

Two editions (original and new edition) of the book Stars above, stars below by Margaret Hesse, 1984, 2018. 2 volumes.

Lake Wobegon days by Garrison Keillor, 1985. 1 volume.

Music albums with cover art illustrations by Mike Lynch:

Lost in Loretto by Javier & the Innocent Sons, 2010. 1 compact disc (CD).

In the dark with you by Greg Brown, 1985. 1 sound disc : analog and 1 audiocassette.

Garrison Keillor's American Radio Company t-shirt and sweatshirt with Lynch illustrations, approximately 1992.

Lake Wobegon U.S.A, by Garrison Keillor, American Radio Company, 1993. 4 audiocassettes.

Includes a box set with illustrations on the box and audiocassettes by Mike Lynch.

Clippings scrapbooks, 1954-1988. 4 volumes.

Compiled by Mike Lynch. Topics include Lynch and his own work, other artists and painters, space exploration, turmoil at the MN State Arts Board in the 1980s, the "Miracle on Ice" hockey game in 1980 (USA vs. Soviet Union), and others.

Location

Box

153.A.15.6F-2

12

Exhibition posters, illustrated maps, clippings, Black Forest Inn parking poster, 1970s, 1990s-2002.

Scrapbook, 2019-2021. 1 volume.

Location

Box

119.G.1.9B

8

Printmaking woodblocks, undated.

Location

Folder

A2/ov8 Drawer 4

1

Portfolio of posters, prints, drawings, and paintings, undated, 1986-2003.

Location

Folder

A2/ov8 Drawer 4

2

Tommy Lynch, collection of Ann Lynch, pencil sketch, January 8, 1988.

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This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:: Art, American -- 20th century.; Realism in art -- 20th century.; Artists -- Minnesota.; Painters -- Minnesota.

Persons:: Bradley Byron.; Kilbride, Robert, author.; Keillor, Garrison, author.

Organizations:: Groveland Gallery (Minneapolis, Minn.), author.; Minneapolis Institute of Arts, author.; McKnight Foundation, author.; Kilbride-Bradley Art Gallery, author.

Document Types:: Photographs.; Digital photographs.; Sketchbooks.; Scrapbooks.; Sound recordings.; Video recordings (physical artifacts).; Slides (photographs).

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MIKE LYNCH:

OVERVIEW

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

ARRANGEMENT

ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

SKETCHBOOKS, JOURNALS, AND SHORT STORIES

PROJECT FILES

CAREER ARCHIVE FILES

REVIEWS AND REFERENCE MATERIALS

BUSINESS AND SALES RECORDS

ROBERT KILBRIDE MATERIALS

SOUND AND VISUAL MATERIALS

PERSONAL ITEMS, WRITINGS, AND DIARIES

ARTWORK, PRINTS, EPHEMERA, AND SCRAPBOOKS

CATALOG HEADINGS