Marian “Jo” Going was a vibrant artist and poet, both in work and in character. Growing up in the New England area, Going would travel to Nova Scotia, Canada every summer with her family, developing her relationship to the North. After moving to Interior Alaska and residing on the homestead of poet John Haines, Going backpacked around Alaska each summer in the pursuit of connection with the land and its life via plein-air painting. She described her work as multivalent; both deeply spiritual and deeply playful.

In addition to her plein-air paintings, Going was an accomplished poet. She produced the book Wild Cranes, a collection of her paintings and poems, which is now part of the permanent holdings at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. She also held an artist-in-residence in Italy at the American Academy in Rome, leading her to create Gli Angeli di Roma, a collection of paper sculptures.

The pieces in this exhibit represent years of Jo Going’s plein-air work as she travelled across Alaska, and were donated by Going in 2023 to the UA Museum of the North.

“Keep on loving. That's the most important thing. Again, because that's the essence of all that is – love.” 

- Jo Going

Exhibition curated by Madelyn Guffey
Student Museum Research Apprentice