As a land-grant institution, the landscape has always been and remains an important aspect of the research and work being conducted at Iowa State University. Iowa State began as a place to teach practical agriculture to the sons and daughters of farmers around the state, thus educating their population and better informing the rural farms of new theories and technology in agriculture. University Museums has long supported these original land-grant initiatives by presenting unique artistic perspectives of the Iowa landscape. Gary Ernest Smith has often painted the Iowa landscape, along with more Western views, with impressive results. He creates close-up detailed views of the grass, corn, and soil, along with painterly visions of rural fields, that could easily be found anywhere around Iowa. These views will speak to the students and community of Iowa State, as many work and live within these rural vistas. Landscapes such as Smith’s allow people to recognize the inherent beauty in their world and appreciate how an artist can translate their surroundings to the canvas.