Iowa Art History
with an emphasis on representational art
Introduction
This section of the Traditional Fine Arts Organization (TFAO) catalogue Topics in American Art is devoted to the topic "Iowa Art History." Articles and essays specific to this topic published in TFAO's Resource Library are listed at the beginning of the section. Clicking on titles takes readers directly to the articles and essays.
Following the links to Resource Library articles and essays are a listing of museums in the state which have provided materials to Resource Library for this or any other topic.
Listed after museums are links to online resources outside the TFAO website. Following these resources is information about offline resources including DVDs, paper-printed books, journals and articles. Our goal is to present complete knowledge relating to this section of Topics in American Art.
We recommend that researchers always search within Resource Library for additional material. Please see TFAO's page How to research topics not listed for more information.
(above: Grant Wood, Self-Portrait, c. 1925, Figge Art Museum. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
Resource Library essays listed by author name in alphabetical order, followed by articles:
None
Museums and other non-profit sources of Resource Library articles and essays:
Des Moines Art Center (2/21/05)
University of Iowa Museum of Art
(above: Grant Wood, Appraisal,
1932, oil on composition board, Dubuque Museum of Art, on long-term loan
from the Carnegie-Stout Public Library. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons*)
Other online information
Art and Artists in Iowa from Iowa Pathways. Accessed August, 2015.
Chronicle: Paintings by Andonia Giannakouros is a 2022 exhibit at the Dubuque Museum of Art which says: " For Dubuque artist Andonia Giannakouros, portraiture has been the means to explore not only individual identity but how that identity is shaped, like a canyon or a diamond, by social, historical, and cultural pressures over time. In ten large-format oil paintings on panel, presented in the artist's first solo exhibition at the Museum, Giannakouros lays bare this process, wrapping and framing contemporary female subjects in colors, patterns, prints, and motifs that render this invisible development visible." Accessed 6/22
David Plowden's Iowa is a 2012 exhibit at the Figge Art Museum which says: "During his 50-year career, David Plowden sought to capture the once commonplace but now rapidly vanishing scenes of small-town and rural America. David Plowden's Photographs showcases Plowden's photographs of local Iowans and communities during a 20-year period." Accessed 2/17
Ellen Wagener: No Ordinary Moments is a 2016 exhibit at the Dubuque Museum of Art which says: "Ellen Wagener has resided in Arizona for over 15 years but has always retained a fascination with her native Iowa landscape." Accessed 3/17
Grant Wood and Marvin Cone: Barns, Farms, and America's Heartland was an exhibit held February 6 - May 15, 2016 at Cedar Rapids Museum of Art. CRMA says: "Born in 1891, Wood and Cone began their lifelong friendship in Cedar Rapids in 1906 and attended Washington High School together. The two artists subsequently traveled to Europe in 1920 and, in the summers of 1932 and 1933, were active forces in the Stone City Art Colony, which brought together an important group of regional artists." Also see article titled "Eastern Iowa celebrates 125th anniversary of Grant Wood's birth" By Brian E. Clark, Special to the Journal Sentinel. Accessed August, 2016.
Iowa (sampling of artists and works connected to state) from askArt. Accessed August, 2015.
John Bloom: Visions of Iowa is a 2009 exhibit at the Figge Art Museum which says: "A native of Iowa and resident of Davenport, John Vincent Bloom (1906-2002) drew inspiration from his immediate surroundings and personal experiences. In so doing, he has left a lasting impression of the small rural communities scattered across the Iowa landscape and the lives sustained by the predominantly agrarian economy." Accessed 2/17
Olson's Art Through the Ages: A Midwestern Perspective is a 2021 exhibit at the Dubuque Museum of Art which says: "Dubuque artist Tim Olson finds inspiration in the people and places around him and uses that inspiration to reimagine historic paintings in his latest series titled, Olson's Art Through the Ages: A Midwestern Perspective. With profound awareness for visual storytelling and irreverent humor, Olson creates a direct dialogue between Midwestern life and historic art. " Also see the website of the artist. Accessed 6/21
Recovered Treasures: Saving Iowa's Painted Past was an exhibition held in 2008-2009 at the State Historical Museum. A 12/23/08 article from the Globe Gazette covers the exhibit. Accessed August, 2016.
Stone City Art Colony from Wikipedia. Accessed August, 2015.
TFAO's Distinguished Artists catalogue provides online access to biographical information for artists associated with this state. Also, Search Resource Library for online articles and essays concerning both individual artists associated with this state's history and the history of art centers and museums in this state. Resource Library articles and essays devoted to individual artists and institutions are not listed on this page.
(above: Iowa River at Amana Colonies, 2022, Photo © 2022 John Hazeltine)
Books, listed by year of publication, with most recently published book listed first:
Iowa Folk Artists, by Jacqueline Andre Schmeal (Author), Charles Brill (Photographer). 136 pages. Iowa State Press; 1st edition (July 30, 1998). ISBN-10: 0813828899. ISBN-13: 978-0813828893
Portraits in Iowa: Portraits of Americans, Made Before 1900 and Now Located in Iowa, By National Society of Colonial Dames of America in the State of Iowa.. Published by National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in the State of Iowa, 1982. 21 pages
A Catalog of New Deal Mural Projects in Iowa, By Lea Rosson DeLong, Gregg R. Narber. Published by L.R. DeLong, 1982. 80 pages
Art in Iowa: From Private Collections, Des Moines Art Center, Oct. 19-Nov. 24, 1963, By Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines Art Center. Published by The Center, 1963. 16 pages
Iowa Artists of the First Hundred Years, By Zenobia Brumbaugh Ness, Louise Orwig. Compiled by Zenobia Brumbaugh Ness, Louise Orwig. Published by Wallace-Homestead Company, 1939. 253 pages
Brief Information Concerning Iowa Artists, By Jeannette M. Drake, Iowa Federation of Women's Clubs, Published by Iowa Federation of Women's Clubs, 1917. 16 pages
(above: Amana Colony, October 2022. Photo © 2022 John Hazeltine)
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