Kit Leffler

2016. Pen, watercolor, gouache and acrylic on paper. 26x40"

“Sweet Lou” Snider gained local fame as the pianist for Nye’s Polonaise room for nearly half a century. Nye’s opened in 1950, but during the times of the ox cart trail it was once a saddle shop and later (1880s) a bar called Hefron’s. Snider’s life was not always as bright as the bouncy karaoke tunes she rattled out on the piano nightly. As a young girl she was marked by tragedy when her father, after learning of his wife’s diagnosis with cancer, shot his four children (including Lou) and then himself. Remarkably, Lou survived, though she had to walk with crutches throughout her life. Snider passed away at the age of 81 on Feb. 28th 2016, just about a month before Nye’s also passed into history - closing its doors forever on April 3rd, 2016.  The building was purchased by a development company, Schafer Richardson, which has begun construction on a six-story, 72 apartment complex on the site.

2016. Pen, watercolor, gouache and acrylic on paper. 22x30"

Norman Kittson was a fur-trader, steamboat operator and railway entrepreneur. He settled in St. Paul in the 1850s. Kittson was responsible for the establishment of the first European fort in Pembina at the border of Minnesota, North Dakota and Canada. Kittson had an avid interest in racehorses and owned a thoroughbred racetrack at what is now Midway Shopping Center near Snelling & University in modern-day St. Paul. The nearby music venue Turf Club is named and branded after Kittson’s racetrack.

2016. Pen, watercolor, gouache and acrylic on paper. 22x30"

Little Crow was a Dakota chief during the European expansion of Minnesota; he was born in 1810 near modern-day South St. Paul, MN.  He participated in and contributed to treaty negotiations between the Dakota and early Minnesotan/American political figures. His hope was to create a peaceful cohabitation of Minnesotan lands. However, due to the cheating of traders, starvation of his tribe, and the truancy of Congress annuity payments he was drawn into conflict. Little Crow was shot and killed near Hutchinson, MN. After his death his body was desecrated: the scalp removed and firecrackers lit in his skull. His body was later tossed into a slaughterhouse pit. This work depicts Little Crow near a fictitious burial shrine. A Dakota burial platform is shown alongside contemporary Christian funeral wreaths, political signs, teddy bears and flowers often found at roadside memorials.  An ash tree expands overhead: a symbol of risk and death due to the highly destructive effects of the invasive emerald ash borer.

2017. Pen, watercolor, gouache and acrylic on paper. 22x30"

Pierre Bottineau was a Métis guide, surveyor, and translator for travelers along the Red River Ox Cart Trail. Due to his many accomplishments he became known as the "Kit Carson of the Northwest". According to Bottineau’s obituary he spoke French, English, Dakota, Ojibwe, Cree, Mandan and Winnebago.  He originally settled in St. Paul but eventually moved to modern-day Northeast Minneapolis where a contemporary neighborhood takes his last name. He died in 1895 in Red Lake, MN his final homestead.  This work depicts the Métis flag, a traditional sash, and a beadwork pattern typical of the culture. The Métis are people of mixed European and Indigenous ancestry, though the term has different historical and contemporary connotations.  The flag was first used in 1816 before the Battle of Seven Oaks, a dispute over pemmican that arose due to short food supply and the rivalry between two fur trading companies: the Northwest Company and the Hudson Bay Company.

2016. Pen, watercolor, gouache and acrylic on paper. 26x40"

Siwek Lumber was founded in 1933 during the Great Depression by Joe Siwek Sr. Siwek began dismantling retired train cars to sell for firewood to families desperate to heat their homes. The business diversified into construction lumber when they moved to their Marshall street location in 1947. Upon retirement, his son, Joe Siwek Jr. (pictured here), took over the business.  The current general managers are Tom & Dave Siwek, who are the third generation of the 84 year old business.

2017. Pen, watercolor, gouache and acrylic on paper.

George Bonga was one of the first black men born in Minnesota. His father, Pierre Bonga, was a slave who was brought to Mackinac Island, Michigan by a British officer. Upon the death of this officer, Pierre was a free man.  He went on to marry an Ojibwe woman, George’s mother. Both Pierre and George were fur traders. During schooling in Montreal, George became fluent in English, French, and Ojibwe –skills he would use as a translator. Due to his upbringing, he became an important negotiator for American Indian and European relations. According to Minnesota Historical Society records, George Bonga felt “comfortable in white and Ojibwe society. Bonga identified with both.” He is said to have called himself one of the first two white men in Minnesota, referring to his participation in European American culture rather than to the color of his skin. He died in 1874 at a lodge he founded on Leech Lake.

2016. Pen, watercolor, gouache and acrylic on paper.

“Farmer Del” Hampton ­­is a co-founder of the Prospect Park Community Gardens. The gardens have three sites: Arthur, Yale, and Towerside, which flank the historic Red River Ox Cart Trail route. Hampton serves the community not only through administration of the garden but also by creating youth outreach programs on plant care and propagation.

2019. Watercolor, pen, acrylic. 22x30"

2016. Watercolor, pen, acrylic on Revere. 19x27"

2016. Watercolor, pen, acrylic. 15x22"

2015. Watercolor, pen, acrylic. 15x22"

2015. Watercolor, pen, acrylic. 22x30"

2015. Watercolor, pen, acrylic. 22x30"

2015. Watercolor, pen, acrylic. 22x30"

2015. Watercolor, pen. 22x30"