Beginning next week the South Dakota Art Museum hosts a summer-long exhibition of paintings by noted Brookings artist Dorothy Morgan

One of the Midwest's most acclaimed artists is practically unknown in the town she's called home for nearly three decades.

That's because she's gained much of her fame and following on the national scene. And because she's represented by a West Coast gallery, her paintings haven't been widely shown in Brookings.

That's about to change, though, as the South Dakota Art Museum hosts an exhibition of oil paintings by Dorothy Morgan, beginning next week, June 24, and running through Sept. 28.

To say that Morgan is "unknown" in Brookings stretches the truth a bit: the arts community has long known of her skill, but her low profile has kept her work from the general public. Consequently, she doesn't have the hometown name recognition of many of her prairie colleagues.

Then, too, Morgan might be better known in the community as a "spouse of" rather than in her own right as a nationally prominent artist. Her husband, Jim Morgan, is president and CEO of Daktronics, one of the region's largest manufacturers.

Morgan first gained national attention for her oil paintings in 1987 as one of the major prizewinners of a 50th anniver- sary art contest sponsored by American Artist magazine.

The John Pence Gallery of San Francisco became aware of Morgan's work as the result of the competition and began representing the South Dakota native.

Since then, Morgan's paintings have been included in exhibitions, reproduced in national magazines and acquired for public and private collections from New York to Texas to California.

Her artwork, depending on the size, complexity and importance of the piece, can command prices in excess of $16,000. Painting 'thick'

Morgan, a fine arts major who graduated from South Dakota State University in 1981, says she feels honored being exhibited at the state Art Museum because it was a place she would go as a student to gaze at paintings by famous artists like Harvey Dunn.

"It was a real eyeopener for me. It was the first time I could study an original oil painting up close and was surprised at how thick the paint could be," she said of her undergraduate experience at the Art Museum. The "thickness" of paint describes one of the key elements of Morgan's work: she paints on Masonite panels using thick, "juicy" impastos. The paintings get their distinctive texture through the artist's use of short brushes and palette knives.

From her two-story farmhouse near Brookings, Morgan devotes herself to painting the prairie landscape around her home. She paints from photographs she takes of scenes that suggest loneliness and isolation in the surrounding landscape. Lonely, prairie scenes

The art Web site AskArt.com, quotes her as saying she loves the simple, lonely beauty of her surroundings , and she's more interested in the way this mood is expressed through shapes and colors than in realistic depiction.

Her still lifes, often of single objects, have the same atmosphere. Her gallery says she excels at the use of light and strong composition, both of which make her paintings "unmistakably distinctive." She is regarded as not merely one of South Dakota's best, but as one of the Midwest's most accomplished painters.

The artist has had four solo exhibitions in San Francisco, and her work is currently on tour with the Tacoma Art Museum's "Lewis and Clark Territory" exhibition. Brookings landscapes 'universal'

Morgan says her landscape paintings are done from scenes within 30 miles of the Brookings area, but they still have a universal appeal.

"John Pence, the gallery owner, feels that my paintings' success is partially from a lot of displaced Midwesterners in California who are reminded of home when they see them," Morgan explains.

Norman Gambill, head of visual arts department at SDSU agrees.

"Her work goes beyond the local scene to gain national attention because of her insight and vision," he said.

Morgan describes her work with a quiet energy : "I've always worked with the thought in mind that the paint itself is as important as the image.

"I love the idea that paint could become a flower or just remain paint," she says of her love of the thick, buttery texture that characterizes her art.

Painting has always been Morgan's dream, and with nearly three decades as a professional, she says she doesn't plan to stop any time soon. Morgan has two grown children and lives on an acreage near town with her husband. She will continue painting, she says, "indefinitely."

An artist's reception for Dorothy Morgan is scheduled for Sept. 19 at the South Dakota Art Museum. The event begins at 4 p.m.

Viewing hours for Morgan's paintings as well as others on display at the Art Museum are Monday Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and Sunday noon to 4 p.m.

For more information, contact the museum at 688-5423 or toll free at 866-805-7590.