Flanked by the Capitol murals depicting Kansas farm life, national television broadcaster Bill Kurtis and Lawrence artist Stan Herd on Tuesday announced a partnership that would result in a body of artwork rooted in the prairie.

Herd, known worldwide for his crop art, will be the artist-in-residence of Kurtis’ new art gallery in Sedan, a town of about 1,350 people in southeast Kansas.

Herd will work on oil paintings, a mural and a massive rock piece honoring American Indians. Kurtis said he hoped the “Art of the Prairie” gallery, which opens Oct. 12, will be the eventual location of an artistic community.

Kurtis’ holdings in southeast Kansas also include the site that was made famous in “The Little House on the Prairie,” by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

“Kansas has the best story in the country,” Kurtis said, noting the state’s American Indian culture, cowboy heritage and launching point for westward expansion, which he called “the biggest migration in civilization  when the East Coast moved to the West Coast.”

Kurtis grew up in Independence, Kan., and is a Kansas University graduate. He is seen by millions of viewers on the Emmy Award-winning “Investigative Reports with Bill Kurtis” on the Arts & Entertainment Network.

Herd said he was excited about the project, and that he hoped to bring his love of Kansas’ natural landscape into pieces of art that eventually could tie into other media, such as film and music.

“We’ve just put some paint on the canvas, as it were. There are a lot more things that are going to evolve out of this,” Herd said.

Herd, who grew up in the small western Kansas town of Protection, said he spent his childhood roaming around country that many people thought was ugly, but he found had a subtle beauty.

Herd said many artists with rural backgrounds were reconnecting with that part of their lives.

“A lot of people are coming back from the coasts to the center of the country,” he said, partly due to greater introspection after the Sept. 11 attack. “There is a renewed vigor to return to your roots.”

Herd, 52, said he would remain a Lawrence resident and probably work half of each week in Sedan for the next year.

Gov. Bill Graves, Lt. Gov. Gary Sherrer and Charles Ranson, head of a state economic development agency, also were on hand to praise Kurtis’ achievements in tying art and history into rejuvenation of southeast Kansas.

Small towns throughout the state should try to tap into tourism by touting their heritage, said Graves, who has commissioned Herd to do a crop art piece on family land near Salina. Kurtis agreed, saying Kansas towns had tremendous potential.

“Just with a little work, every community can identify their story and open their doors,” he said.