It started with a deathbed plea and a promise – a promise that has meant decades of trying to figure out what to do with the art. “Selling the work was never part of Mr. Carlson’s plan anyway, nor has he ever tried to sell it. This wasn’t high art, but that wasn’t really the point. This was about a family relationship across generations, the weight of old promises that can keep you awake at night and, perhaps most of all, the mystery of a creative impulse quietly, relentlessly sustained.”