Laurel Jean Reuter passed away peacefully in her home on Monday, October 13, at the age of 81. She was surrounded by her artwork, family, friends, and her faithful cat Pretty Boy, just as she wanted.

Laurel was born to George and Evelyn Wallace on October 17, 1943, in Devils Lake, ND. She grew up in Tokio, ND, on the Spirit Lake Reservation. Following the death of their mother at a young age, Laurel and her siblings were raised by their aunt Agnes Smith. Laurel attended Devils Lake High School and graduated in 1961.

Fifty years ago, Laurel embarked upon the journey of building a "cultural jewel on the prairie" that ultimately became the North Dakota Museum of Art. This adventure led her from Tokio to the University of North Dakota, where she studied literature coupled with what art history courses she could find. Her quest to see as much art as possible took her across the globe, from North America and Europe to South Africa, Japan, South America, and the far reaches of Iceland and Asia. In 1989, Laurel was installing a textile exhibition in China as the Tiananmen Square uprising began and she and her team were smuggled out for safe passage home. Throughout her career, she searched far and wide for exceptional art to introduce to her growing audience and the fledgling North Dakota Museum of Art.

Of her early years Laurel stated, "I dedicated my life to creating a vibrant art world on the plains of eastern North Dakota. I was just a kid in the English Department at UND when the director of the Student Union asked if I wanted a part-time job keeping a student gallery open on the top floor. It was there I began to think about space, installation, and how does a gallery work. In 1973, I appointed myself the director, and no one cared. I remember it as an exciting time. With the help of my very small staff, we grew the Student Union gallery beyond our expectations."

Laurel forged a formidable career that earned praise from around the world, yet she was quick to brush accolades aside in favor of her next big project. In 1999, while still recovering from the devastating flood of the Red River Valley, she received the Award of Distinction from the National Council of Art Administrators for "her dedication to art and to culture in North Dakota and her struggle to create a world-class museum in a remote environment." Furthermore, they commended her for "helping a devastated community draw together and recover its spiritual existence." In 2007, she received an honorary doctoral degree from the University of North Dakota.

Laurel curated hundreds of exhibitions by renowned artists including Kenneth Patchen, Larry Clark, Fritz Scholder, Ed Ruscha, David Gilhooly, Frank Gohlke (1979—organized by New York's Museum of Modern Art), Sol LeWitt, N. Scott Momaday, Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, and a two-person exhibition by Elmer Bischoff and David Parks. In 1989, with the support of a legion of friends, Laurel moved the institution from the Student Union to the empty women's gymnasium on campus. Having raised enough funds to begin, she hired renowned architect Harvey Hoshour of Albuquerque, New Mexico to design and create an elegant new space that is still celebrated and cherished by so many artists today.

The North Dakota Museum of Art opened in its new home with solo exhibitions by Peter Dean and Barton Benes, with whom she shared life-long friendships. As she grew the museum throughout her career, she continued to provide her audience with challenging exhibitions.

In 2007, after traveling South America and visiting artists who were making work about those who had been disappeared under military dictatorships in the 1960s, 70s, and 80s, Laurel organized and opened The Disappeared at the Museum. Shortly after the exhibition closed in North Dakota, it and the accompanying catalog began a multi-year tour to five cities in the US and five in South and Central America. Over 900 people attended the opening in Guatemala, while in New York, at El Museo del Barrio, New York Times Art Critic Holland Cotter wrote, "The Disappeared was organized by Laurel Reuter, founding director and chief curator of the North Dakota Museum of Art in Grand Forks. It is scheduled to travel through North and South America for three years, and has a bilingual catalog that is a work of art in itself. From Ms. Reuter's stunning essay to the supplementary material, it is a total-immersion emotional experience. And why is it that an on-the-road exhibition from a small museum in the Midwest is the most potent show of contemporary art, political or otherwise, in town? All I can say is that curators in our local museums should pay a visit, and ask themselves that question."

With such monumental exhibitions came accompanying artist catalogs and numerous books, including Whole Cloth, her landmark publication on textiles co-authored with friend and colleague Mildred Constantine, who served as curator at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. At home and abroad, Laurel leaves a lasting impact on artists and the greater art world as a whole while establishing and passionately developing an institution that continues to carry forward her vision and love of the arts.

Laurel lived her life surrounded by beauty. She reveled in the prairie light as she drove her VW convertible to the family farm, or to an artist's studio to pick up paintings for an auction. Her garden was as aesthetically important to her as the many exhibitions she curated. Flowers were intricately arranged by color, height, blooming season, and zones. She took great pleasure in curating her beloved garden, which looked wild to the untrained eye, but which she cared for with much thought and deliberation.

Laurel held close her relationship with Cynthia Lindquist, then President of the Cankdeska Cikana Community College, as they joined forces to commission Native American artists, and bring exhibitions to the Spirit Lake Reservation and New York. She also cherished her long-distance relationships with artist friends Juan Manuel Echavarria, Xu Bing, and countless others she admired, shared meals with, and talked art. Laurel deeply loved her brothers, and treasured introducing her nieces and nephews to the grander world. Above all, she lived the Museum's mission statement, "…we have come to value the arts because they make our hearts wise—the highest of human goals."

Laurel is survived by her brothers James (Loretta) Wallace and Russell (Edith) Wallace; nephews Craig (Tracy) Wallace, Dean (Lisa) Wallace, David (Misty) Wallace, Jesse (Jean) Wallace, James (Trish) Wallace, and Matthew (Mara Jiran) Wallace; nieces Janel (Mike) Vander Klipp, Kristi Wallace, Jennifer (Hunter) Parisien; and her sister-in-law Kathy Krack. She was preceded in death by her father George Wallace, her mother Evelyn Wallace, her aunt Agnes Smith, and her brother Glenn Wallace.

The family would like to thank those who cared for Laurel after her retirement, including Melissa Miller, whom Laurel considered a daughter, Sarah Parker, and the many women who provided comfort and conversation over the years.

The public is invited to a Celebration of Life Service at the North Dakota Museum of Art on Sunday, November 23, 2025 from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 pm. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Laurel Reuter Directors Fund at the North Dakota Museum of Art. This fund is designed to continue Laurel's legacy of presenting world-class contemporary art on the Plains, the development of Native American Initiatives, commissions of new works and artistic publications, and more.