The Dubuque Museum of Art is an

art museum An art museum or art gallery is a building or space for the display of art, usually from the museum's own Collection (artwork), collection. It might be in public or private ownership and may be accessible to all or have restrictions in place. A ...

Dubuque, Iowa Dubuque (, ) is the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. At the time of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population of Dubuque was 59,667. The city lies at the junction of Iowa, Il ...

. The museum is known for its collection of works by

Grant Wood Grant DeVolson Wood (February 13, 1891 February 12, 1942) was an American painter and representative of Regionalism, best known for his paintings depicting the rural American Midwest. He is particularly well known for '' American Gothic'' (193 ...

. The collections include more than 2,500 works of art housed in the former Statesman Bank building in downtown Dubuque. The museum was founded in 1987, although it evolved out of the Dubuque Art Association which had been operating sporadically since 1874.

Dubuque Art Association

The Dubuque Art Association was founded in 1874 with the aim of

collecting The hobby of collecting includes seeking, locating, acquiring, organizing, cataloging, displaying, storing, and maintaining items that are of interest to an individual ''collector''. Collections differ in a wide variety of respects, most obvio ...

and presenting artwork in the city. From its origin, the association was concerned with collecting images and artworks that depicted

Dubuque Dubuque (, ) is the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. At the time of the 2020 census, the population of Dubuque was 59,667. The city lies at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a r ...

and the surrounding area. Many prominent citizens were part of the association including journalists, businessmen, educators, and artists. Early members included

Dennis Mahony Dennis Aloysius Mahony (January 20, 1821 in Rosscarbery, County Cork, Ireland – November 6, 1879) was one of the founders of the Dubuque ''Herald'' (now the ''Telegraph Herald''), a newspaper in Dubuque, Iowa, during the American Civil War. Bio ...

and Alexander Simplot, among others. The association began putting on exhibitions as early as 1874 and facilitating

art collecting A private collection is a privately owned collection of works (usually artworks) or valuable items. In a museum or art gallery context, the term signifies that a certain work is not owned by that institution, but is on loan from an individual ...

in the community. Around 1904, the Dubuque Arts Association disbanded and donated its collection to the Dubuque Public Library. It was reformed in 1910 under the collector, organizer, and educator

Kate Keith Van Duzee Kate name may refer to: People and fictional characters * Kate (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or nickname * Gyula Káté (born 1982), Hungarian amateur boxer * Lauren Kate (born 1981), American autho ...

. Meetings and events continued to be held at the Dubuque Public Library, which moved to its Carnegie-Stout building in 1902. The Art Association had a number of locations during the 20th century and continued to grow in membership. The organization obtained their first gallery space in 1983 when they took over the old county jail that was vacant. This was done with the support of

Mayor C. Robert Justmann.

History

The museum was established in 1987 by the Dubuque Art Association. The first major exhibition was a retrospective of Dubuque-area artist

Francesco Licciardi Francesco, the Italian (and original) version of the personal name "Francis", is the most common given name among males in Italy. Notable persons with that name include: People with the given name Francesco * Francesco I (disambiguation), sever ...

's work. The museum was housed in the old county jail alongside the Art Association for its first few years, at which time the administration realized they could not meet

American Association of Museums American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

standards in that building. The museum purchased the former Statesman Bank building in 1998 and renovated the space to meet museum standards. Architect Joan Sorano oversaw the renovation. In 1996, the Dubuque Art Association officially changed its name to the Dubuque Museum of Art, despite operating as a museum since 1987. The renovation of the new building was completed in 1999. The museum was accredited by the

American Alliance of Museums American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

in 2005. Recent years have seen extensive fundraising through grants and an expansion is expected in the near future.

Collections

The collection of the Dubuque Museum of Art is focused primarily on the work of artists from the

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

. The museum holds at least 38 works by the famous Iowa artist

, including significant paintings. The collection also includes hundreds of works by

Arthur Geisert Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more wi ...

, an artist and illustrator of children's books. The museum has collected a significant amount of works by

Edward S. Curtis Edward Sherriff Curtis (February 19, 1868 – October 19, 1952) was an American photographer and ethnologist whose work focused on the American West and on Native American people. Sometimes referred to as the "Shadow Catcher", Curtis traveled ...

, including a full run of

photogravure Photogravure (in French ''héliogravure'') is a process for printing photographs, also sometimes used for reproductive intaglio printmaking. It is a photo-mechanical process whereby a copper plate is grained (adding a pattern to the plate) and ...

s from his famous book "

The North American Indian Edward Sherriff Curtis (February 19, 1868 – October 19, 1952) was an American photographer and ethnologist whose work focused on the American West and on Native American people. Sometimes referred to as the "Shadow Catcher", Curtis traveled ...

." The museum has many other works in the collection, especially works by artists from the region or that depict the Dubuque area.

References

{{Authority control Dubuque, Iowa Art museums and galleries in Iowa 1987 establishments in Iowa Art museums and galleries established in 1987