With more than twenty changing exhibitions and displays offered each year, there is always something new to discover at the Muscatine Art Center. The two-story Stanley Gallery hosts large exhibitions while smaller displays are presented on the second floor of the historic house and in showcases near the reception desk.
The Muscatine Art Center curates exhibitions using works of art and artifacts from its collection, hosts traveling exhibitions, and collaborates with regional artists, museums, and collectors to spotlight artists and their visions and to tell thought-provoking stories. The organization builds its exhibition schedule to reflect the variety of interests present in the community. Within the two-story Stanley Gallery, interactive displays that appeal to children and families, a juried exhibition, a show of artwork by local elementary students, and a display of historic wedding dresses may be presented within a single year. These exhibitions are typically planned two to four years in advance.
Grant Wood, Thomas Hart Benton, and John Steuart Curry were central figures in the American Regionalist movement, which emerged in the 1920s and 1930s as a reaction against European modernism.
Artist, and former Executive Director of the Figge Museum of Art, Tim Schiffer combines still lifes of objects with images from art history. To celebrate the Muscatine Art Center’s 60th anniversary, Schiffer has created a watercolor triptych inspired by the Muscatine Art Center’s permanent collection and the history of Muscatine.
Portraits not only capture a person’s likeness, they also show their personality or feelings. Portraits serve as a reminder of what someone looked like but can also show their importance or communicate information about who they were. On view from the permanent collection are featured painted, drawn, and printed portraits. The collection contains several hundred fine art portraits and photographic portraits.
In 2015 to mark the 50th anniversary, photographer Randy Richmond captured the collections, behind-the-scenes spaces, and general quirkiness of the Muscatine Art Center.
Known as a local history expert, Jim Burr avidly collected Muscatine history items for most of his life. In 2022, the estate of Jim Burr began donating his Muscatine history collection to the Muscatine Art Center.
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