A national treasure comes to minneapolis

There’s a national treasure at The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, and it’s being supported, in part, by First American Funds and U.S. Bancorp Asset Management. The treasure is the 207-year-old “Lansdowne” portrait of George Washington, and it’s part of a Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery tour to celebrate the nation’s first president.

First American Funds, which is advised by U.S. Bancorp Asset Management, is the mutual fund family of U.S. Bank. Two years ago, Jim Madson, creative director and vice president at U.S. Bancorp Asset Management, worked with a local design company to create a new identity and branding strategy for the funds. George Washington was chosen as the central iconic image in the identity.

When one of Madson’s co-workers read about the portrait tour, she thought it would be a great sponsorship opportunity. First American Funds contacted The Minneapolis Institute of Arts and offered to provide local support for the tour’s stop at the Institute.

Introducing an exhibition of this caliber is no small task. One of the largest projects was producing a formal gala at The Minneapolis Institute of Arts to officially launch the exhibit. Madson worked with a local design firm to create a simple yet classic design for the event pieces. Knowing how critical the printing would be, Madson contacted GLS account executive Leif Taubenberger for the job.

“I began working with Leif when I started working at Piper Capital Management (now U.S. Bancorp) 12 years ago. You can tell he really loves what he does, and he’s passionately dedicated to doing only the best work for our company,” Madson said.

“The new Indigo is amazing. If I hadn’t seen it for myself, I would have thought the inserts were printed on a four-color press. They looked great!” – Jim Madson, Creative Director and Vice President – U.S. Bancorp Asset Management George Washington (Lansdowne portrait) by Gilbert Stuart, oil on canvas, 1796 National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institute. Acquired as a gift to the nation through the generosity of Donald W. Reynolds Foundation.

GLS printed several pieces for Madson, including the gala invitation, R.S.V.P. card and envelope; two versions of the event program; the press conference invitation; thank-you cards; the event menu and an introductory flyer that was inserted into corporate product guides.

The elegant invitation featured foil stamping and metallic ink in the design and french-folded pages that were hand-assembled at GLS after printing. According to Madson, it must have struck a chord with the audience, because they achieved an unusually high response rate, hosting more than 600 guests at the gala.

The four-color event program also featured foil stamping and metallic ink, as well as a unique sidestitch binding process which required GLS to outsource the finishing to a local canvas company. The four-color note card was used to invite local media to a press conference held the day after the opening, and it featured the actual painting on the cover. Additional note cards were printed and left blank inside to serve as thank-you cards after the event.

To let Minnesota sales reps of First American Funds know about the exhibition, GLS printed a four-color insert for the corporate product guide. Because Madson only needed 500 inserts, Taubenberger suggested using GLS' new HP® Indigo color digital variable printer. Madson was impressed with the results. “The new Indigo is amazing. If I hadn’t seen it for myself, I would have thought the inserts were printed on a four-color press. They looked that great!”

GLS' commitment to new technology is one of the reasons Madson stays with the company year after year. The level of service he receives from Taubenberger is another. “Leif never, ever drops the ball, even when I am running late,” Madson commented. “I know I can always rely on GLS.”