Impressed with Catholic culture he had seen in Europe, Beckman began to collect fine art pieces starting with a small collection of artifacts belonging to Father William Kessler at Columbia Academy in Dubuque. He had placed a number of art pieces in a museum that was created at Columbia (now Loras) College with the assistance of the Midwest Antiquarian Association. This collection had included works of some of the best artists over the past few centuries including Winslow Horner, Rembrandt, Rubens, and Van Dyck. The collection was estimated to be worth 1.5 million dollars.