Representational imagery of native animals, birds, even plant life, was significant to the earliest collecting efforts of Fred and Lena Meijer. In particular, there was an interest in bronze sculpture that could be placed in the natural environment. Many of these works were meant to harmonize with a given environment, like the elegant Flying Wild Geese, while other works evoked the Fred & Lena’s memories of their respective childhoods in farming communities in rural Michigan.