An Unlikely Art Gallery

It’s hard to imagine that walking in to get a loan or make a deposit at a bank might feel more like wandering through a gallery of an art museum, but that is exactly how you might feel when you visit any Emprise Bank location in Kansas. And that seems to be just fine with Emprise Bank owner Mike Michaelis.

For the past 20 years, Michaelis has focused his attention on collecting art done by Kansas artists and today has more than 3,000 works in his collection, which is on display in 40 Emprise Bank locations in 20 Kansas communities. The collection is so impressive that Professor Michaela Groeblacher, assistant professor of art, makes it part of all of her advanced art classes and takes students to Wichita every year to tour it.

“It is such a treat to visit the Emprise Bank art collection, especially when Mike leads the group,” Groeblacher said. “His anecdotes add so much to the experience, and to see the sparkle in his eyes when he tells the stories about Kansas art and artists shows the true appreciation of an art patron.”

Michaelis was honored last spring at McPherson College during ArtKansas, a two-day art forum hosted at the college that celebrated creating, curating, and collecting Kansas art. The two-day forum included two gallery shows, presentations by Kansas artists, and an evening gala featuring the premier of a documentary about Michaelis produced by Larry Hatteberg.

The Michaelis collection began getting serious when the bank moved into its five-story building in downtown Wichita in 1997. “We had the wall space,” Michaelis says with a grin when explaining why he started collecting art, but it’s apparent that the collection is an important aspect of his life and his company.

“When I first started focusing on Kansas artists, I thought I might find a hundred artists that belong in a collection,” he said. “Today there are over 800 Kansas artists in the collection. I am really proud of that.”

The collection is a broad survey of Kansas artists that includes nearly every medium, with art dating from 1885 to present. It ranges from up-and-coming artists to rare historical finds. He admits never taking an art course or being artistic himself and relies on his instinct when acquiring art for the collection.

“Mostly, it’s what I like or what I can find,” he said. “If I like something, it brings joy to me. Some pieces are just unique, like the Dwight David Eisenhower painting or a lithograph from the 1880s. The search is always the fun part about it all. It’s like being a detective.”

But Michaelis spends time reading, studying, and searching for art every day. It’s obvious that he is an expert on Kansas artists and recognizes good art. He keeps a file on every artist in his collection and, when giving a tour through the collection, can stop at any piece of art and tell you about the artist, what town they are from, who influenced their art, and interesting details about their life.

Details about Michaelis’ own life do not give a clue about from where his passion for art comes. He describes his early childhood in Russell, Kansas, as almost idyllic – riding bikes through town and visiting the candy store. Later his family moved to Wichita, where he graduated from Wichita East High School and played basketball. He also graduated from the University of Kansas and eventually started working in the family’s banking business.

He thinks perhaps his interest in art started when he was able to begin traveling.

“I had traveled enough and seen that people were proud of the artwork in their area,” he said. “Places like Santa Fe and San Francisco had communities that lifted up their artists. Most people don’t even know the names of Kansas artists. I wanted to give our artists a chance and energize their work.”

The collection not only energizes the work of Kansas artists but also energizes the work of the employees at the Emprise Bank locations. Each employee with an office is given the opportunity to select as many pieces from the collection as they want to fill the walls of their office. Some work is even gifted to long-time employees at retirement.

“I’ve heard some of our employees comment about when they go to another bank or hotel or doctor’s office and notice there is no art on the walls,” Michaelis said. “I think it makes a difference to them.”

When touring through the Wichita bank, Michaelis invites his guests to look into offices, and you notice employees knowingly smile at the looks of surprise and wonder. It’s easy to see that the art does make a difference to them.

“Working in a building that I consider an art gallery is something I never dreamed I would have the opportunity to do,” Lora Berry, an Emprise Bank employee, says in the Hatteberg documentary. “I look at it, study it, and learn something new almost every time I look at it. It’s a non-monetary benefit that no one else has. It’s a joy.”

The joy that the art brings to himself and to others, as well as the pride in lifting up artists in our state, seem to be the driving forces behind Michaelis’ passion for collecting.

“I can think of several artists in Kansas who should be considered national treasures. It’s hard to live in Kansas and be a nationally known artist,” he said. “I think about five years ago I realized that this was a collection and we might really have something here. When I look at the aggregate of this work, I have to admit it’s a pretty good collection.”

Although there are no immediate plans for the collection to go anywhere, Michaelis has thought about what might happen to it in the future.

“The collection is part of the bank and the bank is family-owned,” he said. “Some day when we don’t own it, I would like to see the collection go to a museum.”

But until that time, Michaelis plans to continue collecting. There are works and artists that he wants to add and there are always new artists to watch. Is there a favorite among the many works already in his collection?

“A favorite? Just one? I could maybe narrow it down to about fifty,” he said.