Special Collections Department
403 Parks Library
Iowa State University
Ames, IA 50011-2140

RS 5/8/0/3
Iowa State University

University Museums
Brochures and Exhibit Catalogs, 1975-[ongoing]


Descriptive summary

creator:

Iowa State University, University Museums

title:

Brochures and Exhibit Catalogs

dates:

1975-[ongoing]

extent:

1.47 linear feet (3 document boxes and 1 half-document box)

collection number:

RS 5/8/0/3

repository:

University Archives, Special Collections Department, Iowa State University.

 

Administrative information

access:

Open for research

publication rights:

Consult Head, Special Collections Department

preferred citation:

Iowa State University, University Museums Brochures and Exhibit Catalogs, RS 5/8/0/3, Special Collections Department, Iowa State University Library.

 

Historical note

The University Museums at Iowa State University operates several facilities spread across campus and maintains thousands of pieces of artwork on campus and in its permanent collections. The museum facilities consist of the Brunnier Art Museum housed in the Scheman Continuing Education Building; the Farm House Museum; and the Christian Petersen Art Museum, housed in Morrill Hall. In addition to the University Museum's permanent collections on display in their galleries, the museum staff also maintains Iowa State University's vast and diverse Art on Campus Collection. The most recent addition to the University Museums is the Elizabeth and Byron Anderson Sculpture Garden, located between Morrill Hall and Beardshear Hall.

University Museums began as the Brunnier Gallery, a space dedicated in 1975 in the newly constructed Scheman Continuing Education Building, which is a part of the larger Iowa State Center building complex. Henry Brunnier, who was a graduate of Iowa State, and his wife were early donors to the Iowa State Center fundraising project, and as part of their gift they donated their large personal collection of dolls, glassware, enamels, porcelain, and other decorative artwork. The Brunnier Gallery became the Brunnier Gallery and Museum in 1980 and the museum was accredited in 1983 by the American Association of Museums.

The Farm House was the first structure built on the Iowa State University campus in 1860. For over one hundred years, the Farm House served as a home to college deans, faculty, and students. In 1965, the Farm House was declared a National Historic Landmark and the final residents, Dean Floyd Andre and his family, moved out in 1970. It was decided that the Farm House should be saved and restored to resemble what it may have looked like during its first 50 years. The Farm House Museum was opened to the public on July 4, 1976.

The most recent additions to the University Museums are the Christian Petersen Art Museum and the Elizabeth and Byron Anderson Sculpture Garden. The Christian Petersen Art Museum is named for the nation's first permanent artist-in-residence, Christian Petersen, who sculpted and taught at Iowa State and created many of the well-known works of art on campus. The museum was added in 2007 and is housed in the recently renovated Morrill Hall. The Anderson sculpture garden is named after Iowa State graduate Elizabeth Anderson and her late husband Byron. The sculpture garden displays an assortment of modern artwork alongside work of Christian Petersen. The sculpture garden is located south of Morrill Hall.

The University Museums also maintains the hundreds of pieces of art located on campus in the Art on Campus Collection. This artwork includes statues, murals, paintings, and other two- and three-dimensional works of art. The University Museums provides tours and online information for anyone interested in viewing Iowa State's rich collection of art.

 

Collection description

This collection (1975-[ongoing]) contains brochures, flyers, invitations, and exhibit catalogs for the University Museums at Iowa State University. The informational brochures contain general information about the University Museums, their facilities, and their permanent collections. The remainder of the collection consists of exhibition catalogs and related publications for art collections displayed primarily at the Brunnier Art Museum and the Christian Petersen Art Museum.

University Museums has also published a number of books and guides. For several exhibitions, a guide for teachers was created which contained information on the artwork on display and study units for students. These guides can be found in the University Museums Publications, RS 5/8/0/4. The University Museums has also published or sponsored the publication of numerous books on artwork, including When Tillage Begins, Other Arts Follow: Grant Wood and Christian Petersen Murals (call no. ND237 W795 D45x 2006), Christian Petersen Urban Artist, 1900-1934 (call no. NB237 P4 A4 2007); and University Museums Collections Handbook (call no. N512 A56 I59x 2000). These books and others can be found by searching the ISU Library's catalog.

Related collections include the Art On Campus Collection, RS 4/8/5; the Mary Atherly Papers, RS 5/8/51; and the Christian Petersen Papers, RS 26/2/52. Also, oral history interviews with longtime University Museums Director Lynette Pohlman and Curator Mary Atherly are available in the Sesquicentennial Oral History Collection, RS 0/11/7.

 

Organization

The collection is organized chronologically with informational brochures in the front.

 

Container list

Box

Folder

Title

Dates

1

1

Informational Brochures

1980s-[ongoing]

1

2-3

Informational Brochures: Art on Campus

undated

1

4

Informational Brochures: Farm House Museum

2000-2005, undated

1

5

Exhibit Brochures and Catalogs

1975-1976

1

6

Exhibit Brochures and Catalogs

1977-1979

1

7

Exhibit Brochures and Catalogs

1980-1989

1

8

Brunnier Art Museum Exhibit: “Egypt: Day and Night, Watercolors by Keith Achepohl”

1983

1

9

Brunnier Art Museum Exhibit: “Heriloom to Heirloom Exhibitions”

1983

1

10

Brunnier Art Museum Exhibit: “The Prints of J. N. Darling”

1984

2

1

Brunnier Art Museum Exhibit: “Newcomb Pottery: An Enterprise for Southern Women, 1895-1940”

1984 ca.

2

2

Brunnier Art Museum Exhibit: “Iowa State College Art Pottery, 1920-1939”

1986

2

3

Brunnier Art Museum Exhibit: “Contemplate Japan”

1987

2

4

Brunnier Art Museum Exhibit: “The Jeweled Past: Old Russian Enamels”

1987

2

5

Brunnier Art Museum Exhibit: “A Fragile Thread of Glass”

1988

2

6

Brunnier Art Museum Exhibit: “A History of Glass”

1989

2

7

Brunnier Art Museum Exhibit: “An Architecture of Substance: Farm Structures to Contemporary Houses”

1990

2

8-9

Brunnier Art Museum Exhibit: “Art About Livestock”

1990

2

10

Brunnier Art Museum Exhibit: “Elegance and Utility: A Brief History of Chinese Snuff Bottles”

1990

2

11

Exhibit Brochures and Catalogs

1990-1999

2

12

Brunnier Art Museum Exhibit: “Joey Kirkpatrick and Flora C. Mace: Two Minds; Four Hands”

1993

3

1

Brunnier Art Museum Exhibit: “Words to Be Seen”

1994

3

2

Brunnier Art Museum Exhibit: “In a Man’s Brain: Images of Women”

1997

3

3

Brunnier Art Museum Exhibit: “Campus Aesthetics in Black and White: George Christiansen and Louise Haug”

2000

3

4

Brunnier Art Museum Exhibit: “Frank Miller: Cartoonist in an Iowa Tradition”

2000

3

5

Brunnier Art Museum Exhibit: “Josiah Wedgwood: Artist and Scientist”

2000

3

6

Brunnier Art Museum Exhibit: “The Gentle Sculptor: A Christian Petersen Retrospective,” folder and stationery

2000

3

7

Brunnier Art Museum Exhibit: “(Art)n Virtual Visions: Three Decades of Collaboration”

2002

3

8

Brunnier Art Museum Exhibit: “John Bloom: An Eye for Life”

2002

3

9

Brunnier Art Museum Exhibit: “From Russian Easels: Socialist Realist and Impressionist Paintings from the Museum of Russian Art”

2003

3

10

Brunnier Art Museum Exhibit: “The Age of Brilliance”

2003

3

11

Brunnier Art Museum Exhibit: “Grant Wood’s Main Street”

2004

3

12

Christian Petersen Art Museum Exhibit: “Albert Paley: Portals and Gates”

2007

3

13

Christian Petersen Art Museum Exhibit: “The Art Students League of New York”

2007

3

14

Christian Petersen Art Museum Exhibit: “The Morrill Act of July 2, 1862”

2008

3

15

Elizabeth and Byron Anderson Sculpture Garden: "Exquisite Balance: Sculptures by Bill Barrett"

2008

3

16

Christian Petersen Art Museum Exhibit: “BodyScapes & CounterPoints, Prints by Beej Nierengarten-Smith”

2009

4

1

Traveling Exhibit: "Where's Rodin? A Touring Comparison of Auguste Rodin and Christian Petersen"

2010

4

2

Elizabeth and Byron Anderson Sculpture Garden: "Realites: The Lyric Sculpture of William King"

2011

4

3

Brunnier Art Museum Exhibit: "In Pursuit of Wildlife Conservation: The Art of Jay N. Darling and Maynard Reece"

2013

4

4

Christian Petersen Art Museum Exhibit: "So Sweet, Post Pop REDUX by Andy Magee"

2012

4

5

Brunnier Art Museum Exhibit: "Artist Lecture and Reception with Lawrence Nowlan"

2013

4

6

Brunnier Art Museum Exhibit: "In Pursuit of Wildlife Conservation, the Art of Jay N. Darling and Maynard Reece"

2013

4

7

Christian Petersen Art Museum Exhibit: "Illuminating Perception, Explorations of Light and Shadow by Mac Adams"

2013

4

8

Christian Petersen Art Museum Exhibit: "Coherence, An Immersive Laser Installation by Dan Corson"

2015

4 9 Christian Petersen Art Museum Exhibit: "(Re)discovering S(h)elves" 2015
4 10 Brunnier Art Museum Exhibit: "40/40: Exhibition of Iowa Artists" 2015