To honor Professor Douglas Eckheart's service to and retirement from Luther College, a special exhibit featuring a mini-retrospective of Eckheart's work, along with works by 33 alumni artists selected by their former teacher, was displayed in all the campus galleries during fall 2008. The Eckheart Tribute Collection originated from this exhibit. Artists who participated in the exhibit were invited to donate one of their works from the exhibit, or another work if they preferred, to the Fine Arts Collection. A wide variety of media and artistic sensibilities are represented by the alumni works in this collection. They include paintings in oil, acrylic and watercolor; graphite drawings; relief and intaglio prints; digital and video imagery; and mixed-media pieces. Graduation dates of the alumni artists range from 1969 to 2005.

Gallery Coordinator Curatorial Statement
A Curatorial Statement by Gallery Coordinator David Kamm accompanied the exhibit Celebrating Connections: Doug Eckheart and Alumni Artists. In the statement Kamm emphasized that "this is a show about an artist and his studio work, but more than that, it's a show about an art instructor and his work, nurturing young minds and talents in the classroom studio. The result of that work is right before our eyes and it is good to see."

See the Exhibit Pamphlet "Douglas Eckheart with Alumni Artists. Celebrating Connections: Forty Years of Artistic Dialogue at Luther College 1968-2008" on file in Fine Art Collection Office.