Art + Iowa

Art + Iowa

Iowa is home to works of art by some of the most respected artists in the world. Prepare to be awed.

CEDAR RAPIDS MUSEUM OF ART

Cedar Rapids: The museum houses the world’s largest collection of Grant Wood paintings and owns the property at 5 Turner Alley that Wood used as a home and studio from 1924-1934. It was in this studio that he painted one of the world’s most famous works of art – American Gothic – which the Art Institute of Chicago purchased in 1930 and still displays.

MOONEY ART COLLECTION

Charles City: Seventy-seven works of art from artists including Rembrandt, Picasso, Dali and Grant Wood are on display at the Charles City Public Library. Arthur Mooney, who moved to Charles City as a child, bequeathed the collection to the library. After nearly 60 years in storage, a gallery was added to the library in 2000 to exhibit the pieces.

CLARINDA CARNEGIE ART MUSEUM

Clarinda: In 2014, Robert and Karen Duncan, both Clarinda natives, renovated the town’s former Carnegie library to house their eclectic assortment of world-class contemporary art. Described as one of the top 50 private collections in the country, the couple owns more than 2,000 works of art. Rotating exhibits draw from these holdings, with new themed exhibitions installed twice a year.

IOWA WEST PUBLIC ART COLLECTION

Council Bluffs: A planning effort in 2004 designated more than 50 sites for potential placement of public art. So far, nine artists have been commissioned to create a multitude of contemporary sculptures. Completed projects include the Bayliss Park fountain, the five-acre Great Lawn at Tom Hanafan River’s Edge Park and Gateway, a seven-story tall sculpture that frames the 8th Street Viaduct.

FIGGE ART MUSEUM

Davenport: The museum’s 3,000 permanent holdings are testimony to seven decades of philanthropy and civic pride. The collections, organized into seven areas, offer a distinct look at regional, national and international art from the 15th century to the present.

DES MOINES ART CENTER

Des Moines: Internationally recognized architects Eliel Saarinen, I.M. Pei and Richard Meier constructed the facility in phases. The more than 5,000 piece collection includes artwork from the 19th century to the present.

JOHN AND MARY PAPPAJOHN SCULPTURE PARK

Des Moines: The roughly four-acre park on the western edge of downtown includes nearly 30 works by some of the world’s most famous artists. Among the signature pieces is the iconic Nomade by Spanish sculptor Jaume Plensa, a 27-foot-tall human form made of a latticework of steel letters.

HIGH TRESTLE TRAIL BRIDGE

Between Madrid and Woodward: The half-mile, 13-story-high bridge is the signature component of the High Trestle Trail (which runs 25 miles from Ankeny to Woodward). Forty-one steel “frames” over the bridge represent support cribs within a historic coal mine, a nod to the area’s mining history. The “frames” light up with blue LED lights at dusk.

CHARLES H. MACNIDER ART MUSEUM

Mason City: This Tudor-style mansion features permanent exhibits of 19th and 20th-century American art and the largest collection of puppets, marionettes and related props from famous puppeteer Bil Baird, including those seen in The Sound of Music.

PEARSON LAKES ART CENTER

Okoboji: Six galleries showcase permanent and traveling exhibitions from local, regional and national artists. The center houses the second largest collection of Russian Impressionist paintings outside of Russia.

SIOUX CITY ART CENTER

Sioux City: More than 1,000 pieces from Midwestern, national and international artists make up the permanent collection. Grant Wood’s Corn Mural is on extended display in a room designed just for the work.

WATERLOO CENTER FOR THE ARTS

Waterloo: The permanent collection has been curated for more than 50 years and includes Midwestern artists like Grant Wood and Marvin Cone, American decorative arts, international folk art and the largest public collection of Haitian art in the United States.

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