By Patti Simpson from the January 2022 Stereoscope
A couple months ago while I was volunteering at the Nebraska Prairie Museum’s front desk, the Museum received a donation of a large pencil drawing of the old First National Bank building that was located at 4th and East Avenues here in Holdrege. The beautiful drawing was numbered and signed by Brad Pearson. That very afternoon, Alice Erickson stopped by the Museum and I asked her about it. She knew the photo well, as she and her husband, Bill Erickson had a set of 11 Brad Pearson drawings. Bill is a past president of the First National Bank, now known as the First State Bank of Holdrege. Alice said that she thought she
remembered the drawings were published by the First National Bank in a calendar. Bill and Alice liked them so much, that they had the 11 pieces framed and hung them in their home.
I did some looking around to find out more about the drawings, and if they actually were from a calendar, why only 11 and not 12? I checked in the Museum’s Don O. Lindgren Genealogy Library, and found four or five of the 11 pieces already scanned. I asked Brad’s wife, Judy about it, and she too remembered his drawings in the calendar. I discovered that back in the early 1980s, the First National Bank was getting ready to celebrate its 100 birthday (1884-1984). Many plans were made for the celebration including a special anniversary calendar. Local artist, Brad Pearson was asked to submit 11 drawings for the calendar. The 12th month displayed a collage of the bank’s officers. The drawings submitted by Brad featured many different local items including the original old First National Bank building, farm scenes and a variety of things representing Phelps County over the last 100 years. Shortly after I asked Alice about the drawings, she and her husband donated all 11 of their pieces to the Nebraska Prairie Museum. They too are now scanned and added to our archives.
We are very lucky to have had Brad and many other wonderful artists call Holdrege home. Unfortunately, Brad passed away on April 1, 2019. His wife Judy, still lives here in Holdrege. According to his obituary, he was a talented self-taught artist. “Dabbling in a variety of art media (watercolor, pen and ink, pastels) before primarily focusing on bronze sculpture. This hobby/second job brought him notoriety, when his life-size sculpture of “Old Tom Morris” was placed at the British Golf Museum in St. Andrews, Scotland, and later at the GCSAA’s headquarters in Lawrence, Kansas. He also made the life-size sculptures at the Holdrege Country Club (‘The Caddy’); the Holdrege Middle School (‘Apple of My Eye’); and at various other golf courses across the country. The piece ‘Handout’ is in the permanent collection at the Museum of Nebraska Art in Kearney. His collection of golf bronzes and Santa’s are cherished pieces of artwork by many.”
Thank you Bill and Alice for sharing your collection of these beautiful Pearson drawings. I wish Brad was around to thank too. These drawings will now be preserved for future generations to enjoy.
Nebraska Prairie Museum 