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The Van Gogh of the Plains

More than 100 years ago, Swedish-born artist Birger Sandzén helped shape the way Americans picture the Kansas landscape. Today, the largest collection of his paintings, prints, and drawings is in the small central Kansas town where he immigrated, lived and worked.

Whether you know it or not, how you picture the hills and streams of Kansas, and the mountains of Colorado, is largely shaped by a Swedish painter known as “the Van Gogh of the Plains.” KCUR’s Julie Denesha spent some time in Lindsborg, Kansas, known today as "Little Sweden."

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Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Olivia Hewitt and KCUR Studios, and edited by Madeline Fox, Emily Younker and Gabe Rosenberg.

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