Lloyd Herfindahl (1922-1995) was certainly a very prolific artist. His creations are available for public viewing at several locations in Albert Lea. Herfindahl’s murals, sketches and paintings are on exhibit at other sites including Aurora University in Aurora, Ill., several museums and galleries in France, Belgium and Great Britain, and even at Vesterheim in Decorah, Iowa. There are also his artworks in private collections.

Here in Albert Lea, I have so far explained exactly where his artwork can be seen at the Freeborn County Courthouse, City Center, Albert Lea Medical Center, First Lutheran Church, Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, the Freeborn County Historical Museum, and the American Red Cross office on West Fountain Street. Now I have two more locations to add to this list.

Herfindahl’s mural on the mental health topic is located on the second floor of the Freeborn County Human Services Department building at the

corner of West Clark Street and South Washington Avenue (the former National Guard Armory).

In 1959 Lloyd was one of the founders of the Albert Lea Art Center. And it’s at their present location in the building at 224 S. Broadway Ave. (the former Rivoli Theater site) where there are more examples of his artistic legacy available for public viewing.

In the hallway toward the rear entry are three of his black and white religious sketches hanging on the wall. Also in this area is a copy of the Red Cross mural, a painting of a lady in despair, a nice portrait of a young lady wearing glasses, a painting of a man in a red robe which may be one of the Prophet Series, and a modernistic painting which is supposedly a composite scene based on Spain and Portugal.

Near the front entry of the Art Center is the black and white &uot;Coronation of Truth&uot; drawing.

A real challenge is to find the small painting of a Norwegian stave church located on the wall between the Storrer and Herfindahl Gallery rooms.

In the Art on Broadway portion of the Art Center, a gift and art supplies shop, are several more Herfindahl artworks. One I saw was labeled &uot;Haunted House.&uot; There were also two paintings of flowers in vases. These are items from private collections on consignment for sale.

Art on Broadway also has prints of Lloyd’s murals for sale. All are numbered and some have been signed by the artist.

The personal collection of art books and manuals once owned by Lloyd have been donated to the Albert Lea Art Center. They are now part of a special library and are available for checkout by members.

Art Center Coordinator Annette Oswald says Herfindahl’s art works, plus other creations by area artists are &uot;free to see&uot; whenever the Art Center is open. She added that a portion of the art on exhibit is changed each month.

One item available for purchase at Art on Broadway is the 1994 book, &uot;Fragments,&uot; by Herfindahl and Gareth Hiebert. Gareth, incidentally, was the &uot;Oliver Towne&uot; columnist at the St. Paul Pioneer Press for 34 years. This book is an excellent explanation of Lloyd’s art and life, and has many, many superb examples of his creations, especially the murals.

At the end of the last column I wrote that Albert Lea was the &uot;City of Murals.&uot; This title was used about 1995 by the Albert Lea/Freeborn County Convention and Visitors Bureau for a pamphlet featuring the locations of the Herfindahl murals.

This particular pamphlet seems to now be out of print. Maybe it could be revised and updated, after the Freeborn County Courthouse renovation is completed. My columns might serve as a guide as to the exact locations of Lloyd’s murals and other art work available for public viewing.

I also suggest that a better location be found for the two &uot;History of the Judicial System&uot; murals so they can be seen by the public. Having them hanging in a court room which is locked most of the time doesn’t seem to be quite right.

Tribune feature writer Ed Shannon’s column appears Fridays in the Tribune.