MASON CITY — A Minneapolis photographer who spent years turning his lens toward some of nature’s smallest creatures and biggest birds is now turning that work into a gift for Mason City’s Charles H. MacNider Art Museum.
Retired commercial photographer Ray Colby has donated a selection of his wildlife photographs, printed on canvas, for an online auction benefiting the MacNider museum.
The auction is already underway and will remain open until 6 p.m. Monday, September 29.
People can view the photographs and place bids in the online auction here.
Every dollar raised through the sale will go into the MacNider Museum’s temporary exhibition fund, helping bring traveling exhibitions to Mason City in the future.
For Colby, museum officials say, it is a way to give something back to the institution and support the arts in North Iowa.
The photographs may look familiar to visitors who stopped by the museum earlier this year.
They were created specifically for Colby’s solo exhibition, “Ray Colby: Nature Photographer,” which filled the museum’s Kinney-Lindstrom Gallery from April 10 through June 17.
Colby’s camera explored three very different corners of the natural world.
One part of the exhibition focused on insects and arachnids that can easily be overlooked in Midwestern backyards and gardens. Another turned its attention skyward to the large birds sharing urban Minneapolis with thousands of people.
The third captured Sandhill Cranes during a stop along their migration route near Wisconsin’s Crex Meadows Wildlife Area.
Rather than disappearing into storage after the exhibition closed, the photographs now have a chance to find permanent homes with art and nature lovers while helping fund whatever exhibition comes through the MacNider galleries next.
The photographs were never accessioned into the museum’s permanent collection, allowing Colby to donate them for the fundraiser.
The auction comes during a notable year for the Mason City institution. Earlier this month, NorthIowaToday.com reported that the MacNider Museum earned reaccreditation from the American Alliance of Museums, continuing its standing among a relatively small group of Iowa museums meeting the organization’s national professional standards.
For bidders, the Colby auction offers a chance to take home an original piece from a museum exhibition.
For the museum, each winning bid helps bring another exhibition through the doors.
The Charles H. MacNider Art Museum is located at 303 Second Street SE in Mason City. Admission is free.
The museum is open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. It is closed Sunday and Monday.
(TOP IMAGE: Ray Colby, Newly Molted Cicada, Digital Photograph Printed on Canvas, 2025)