WINONA, Minn. (AP) - A portion of a large collection of art and memorabilia related to eagles is on display in Minnesota.
That Preston Cook donated his collection of 25,000 eagle items to the National Eagle Center in Wabasha, the Winona Daily News reported . Cook recently moved to Wabasha after living in San Francisco as a real estate mogul.
“I liked the Wabasha National Eagle Center because they have live birds and they have an established program that’s educational,” Cook said. “(The collection) will enhance what they’re already doing.”
A portion of the items will be on display in Winona and Wabasha while a permanent home for the items is being constructed. The Eagle Center is working on a $16 million expansion that would include a permanent location for the items, additional education space and living space for more eagles.
Cook said he acquired the first piece in his collection in 1966. The brass buttons on the uniform he was issued for the army were gold plated and featured eagles. He decided to begin his collection after he saw the buttons, he said.
The Eagle Center has an exhibit called “Eagles Everywhere.” The Minnesota Marine Art Museum has the “Eagles Over The Water” exhibit. It focuses on artwork, including pieces by Andy Warhol, John James Audubon and Robert Havell Jr.
“Anything that you can think of that has an eagle on it (Cook) has probably collected,” said Dave Casey, the Marine Art Museum’s assistant curator of education and exhibitions. “He’s got 25,000 pieces from coffee cans to million-dollar paintings and everything in between.”
Both exhibits are available until Oct. 14.
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Information from: Winona Daily News, http://www.winonadailynews.com
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