We were pleased to present this small exhibition of prints by Mr. Lasansky from the Museum’s collection that includes prime examples of the artist’s signature style, composition, and themes – the riveting series of four intaglios For An Eye An Eye I-IV (1946-48); My Daughter Marie Jemina (1959), a sweetly rendered, larger-than-life size print; and two portraits, Self Portrait (1957) and Old Lady with Bonnet (1969).

A native of Argentina, Lasansky was a naturalized American citizen by 1952. He was invited to establish a print workshop at the University of Iowa School of Art and Art History in 1945, which still serves as a model for other university printmaking departments. He is best known for his complex, large-scale prints on which he applied a spectrum of masterful graphic techniques, using multiple plates and full ranges of color. Awarded five Guggenheim Fellowships over his lifetime, as well as numerous honorary degrees and exhibition awards, Lasansky has devoted his career to exploring the expressive possibilities of graphic art; contributing significantly to establishing printmaking as a meaningful and critical art form in the 20th century. Mr. Lasansky retired from the University of Iowa in 1985. He and his wife Emilia raised six children in Iowa City. They live there today and Lasansky continues to create new work in his downtown Iowa City studio.

Image: Mauricio Lasansky (Argentina, b. 1914), My Daughter Maria Jimena, 1959, color intaglio, 58 3/16×20 9/16 in., collection of the Dubuque Museum of Art, ND.229

Dubuque’s copy of The North American Indian collection by Edward S. Curtis, given to the library in 1909 by Mrs. Hiram Pond Ward, includes 20 volumes of encyclopedic text and photographs documenting traditional Indian life, tribal lore, history, traditional foods, housing, garments, recreation ceremonies and funeral customs. In total he took over 40,000 photographic images of over 80 tribes. Additionally, the collection includes 722 sepia- toned, large-format photogravure prints. Only 272 complete sets were sold of 300 sets printed.
In 1999, the collection of photogravures was loaned to the Museum from the library for exhibition and better long-term storage conditions. In October, a local group, Dubuque Cultural Preservation Committee, purchased the entire Curtis collection ensuring that the collection will remain in Dubuque for the community to continue to enjoy.

Warrior and Rider, featured the horse and its importance to Native American life. From work to play to battle, the horse was an integral and indispensable part of many Native American tribes. Curtis took these photographs between 1895 and 1928, recreating beautiful and moving images from a time long past. Two of the books were also on view, Volumes 4 and 8, showing additional horse-themed image and text.

Edward S. Curtis was born near Whitewater, Wisconsin in 1868. In 1874, his family moved from Wisconsin to Minnesota and Curtis built his own camera from parts his father brought home from the Civil War. At the age of 17, he became apprenticed to a St. Paul photographer and at 19 became a partner with a photographer in a Seattle studio. Curtis died of a heart attack in 1952 at the home of his daughter Beth in Los Angeles.

Image: Edward Sheriff Curtis (America, 1868-1952), The Lone Chief – Cheyenne, plate 665,1927, photogravure on Dutch Van Gelder paper, 15 5/16×11 7/16 in., Gift of the Dubuque Cultural Preservation Committee, an Iowa general partnership, consisting of Dr. Darryl K. Mozena, Jeffrey P. Mozena, Mark Falb, Timothy J. Conlon, and Dr. Randy Lengeling, 2009.665

Mr. Thrall explores the relationship between visual art and music in his extraordinary paintings and etchings. He is inspired by music, musical scores, and rhythmic patterns in his graceful abstract designs.

Mr. Thrall received undergraduate and graduate degrees at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (Milwaukee State Teachers College), University of Illinois-Urbana, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Ohio State University. After holding teaching positions outside the area, he returned to Milwaukee-Downer College as a professor of art. Following the college’s merger with Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin Thrall held the Ferrar-Marrs Chair in Fine Arts until his retirement in 1990. Thrall now live in his native Milwaukee where he has a studio in Riverwest. He and his wife Win have four children and seven grandchildren.

Image: Arthur Thrall, Galaxy I, acrylic on canvas, 2007, 24×28 in., private collection.

This exhibition continued the exploration of the work of this little-known but highly skilled and classically trained Dubuque artist from the early 20th century. Walter made his living creating religious murals and paintings in churches in Dubuque and many surrounding communities. However, he spent his free time creating beautiful masterpieces of the landscapes, people, and still-life scenes around him and that he found on his travels throughout the upper Midwest. These exhibitions are organized with the cooperation of Dubuque’s Friends of Joseph Walter group. Eleven portraits were on display including the artist’s self-portrait, portraits of his son and daughter, and three portraits that are strongly assumed to be of the three Herrmann brothers from Dubuque.

Image: Joseph Walter (American, b. Austria, 1865-1946), Portrait of Marie Walter (detail), ca. 1908, oil on canvas, 20×16 in., gift of Dr. Darryl & Terry Mozena, 2007.12.28

Dick Locher’s ability to capture the absurdities of life through political cartooning is known worldwide. His impact as a widely recognized cartoonist and commentator on American life is seen in the numerous awards he has received, including the Pulitzer Prize.

Locher established his reputation as one of the leading editorial cartoonists at the Chicago Tribune, where he worked since 1973. Since 1983, he has been the artist of the “Dick Tracy” comic strip and in 2005 took over as both writer and artist. Locher’s previous experience with the strip was as Chester Gould’s assistant from 1957 to 1961. Prior to joining the Chicago Tribune, he was president of his own sales-promotion agency. Locher is also know as a fine art painter, sculptor, and inventor. He is originally from Dubuque. This exhibition included over 50 of Locher’s political cartoons and 7 small caricature sculptures.

Image: Dick Locher, American Gothic, 2007, Pen and ink on paper, 8 ½ x 11 inches, Collection of the artist

The Dubuque Museum of Art presented the paintings of Cedar Rapids, Iowa artist Thomas C. Jackson in the Kris Mozena McNamer Gallery. With a graphic artist’s technical aptitude, Jackson creates absorbing images of American life using imagery that we may see everyday but take for granted or are only aware of subconsciously. Jackson uses his commercial background to make insightful statements about American pastimes and popular culture: “All of the paintings reflect society’s desire for more — more summer fun, visual stimulation, crowds, excitement, food, travel, money, music, dancing. They may be interested in buying one more Christmas present, showing off the latest fashion, traveling to the next hot spot, enjoying one more big band dance, winning a prize, eating comfort food, or exuding the most Christmas spirit.”

Thomas C. Jackson received a BA from Western Illinois University in Macomb, Illinois in 1972 and an MFA from the University of Notre Dame in 1974. Prior to becoming a full-time artist in 2000, Jackson was General Manager and Vice President for Client Development at Stamats Communications, Inc. in Cedar Rapids. His work is represented at Karolyn Sherwood Gallery in Des Moines, Iowa.

Image: Thomas C. Jackson, Holly Ball, 2008, oil on canvas, 36×54 in., collection of the artist.

In the latter part of the twelfth century the women who became known as “Beguines” began a creative experiment in a new style of living. They were not members of the established religious orders, or convents, although their lifestyles were similar. Beginning in Belgium and the Low Countries, the movement spread along the Rhine, with its numbers peaking at the end of the thirteenth century.

Kames’s interest in the Beguines began in preparation for a 2005 residency at the Frans Masereel Centrum, the Flemish International center for the contemporary printmaking, located in Kasterlee, Belgium. Again in the summer of 2007 Kames was a resident at the Frans Masereel Centrum, when she finalized the format for the Spiritus Suite. Numerous small Beguine communities or “begijnhofs” still exist in the Northern part of Belgium. Although, there are no Beguines still living, their distinctive communal structures have found reuse as museums, cultural centers, student or senior housing. Many remaining begijnhofs are classified as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO. Kames visited and documented begijnhofs at Turnhout, Brugges, Antwerp, and Leuven in Belgium. Often the begijnhof took the form of small row houses situated around a central garden and chapel. This architectural plan informed the structure of Spiritus Suite.
Each of the etchings suggests one of the “Seven Stages of Mystical Journey” found in numerous Beguine writings.The individual parts of the print reference Beguine spiritual life as well.

Image: Louise Kames, Spiritus Suite II, 2007, colored etching, 6 1/2×23 in., collection of the artist.

A stunning selection of contemporary landscapes from the A.G. Edwards/Wachovia Securities Collection was on display including works by Jim Dine, Andy Warhol, Peter B. Kaplan, Roy Lichtenstein, and Christo and Jeanne-Claude.

Image: Roy Lichtenstein (American, 1923-1997), Landscape, 1996, Serigraph, 35×42 1/2 in., collection of Wachovia Securities

In his signature energetic style, Olson creates realistic paintings full of familiar sites and clever humor. The unruliness of his loose, erratic lines disguise carefully planned compositions in an unexpectedly satisfying way.

Tim Olson received his BA from Loras College in 2003. He was born in Storm Lake, Iowa in 1962 and now makes his home in Dubuque with his wife and two children.

Image: Tim Olson, Double Stack Train Cars, 2008, oil, ink, watercolor, and pastel on paper, 42×30 in., courtesy of the artist

Kono brings the lush, colorful world of Hawaii to life in her 2005 children’s book. The saturated colors and beautiful figures soothe the soul of children and adults alike. Hula Lullaby was awarded the Children’s Literature Council’s Excellence in a Picture Book Award and was named by Nick Jr. magazine as Best Lullaby and Goodnight Book.

Erin Eitter Kono studied graphic design at UCLA in 2000. She graduated from the University of Iowa in 1995 with a BA in art history. She was raised in Dubuque and traveled extensively before settling down in Redondo Beach, California with her husband and daughter.

Image: Erin Eitter Kono, The scent of tropic blooms, Perfume the darkened sky, Music rocks you lightly, With its hula lullaby, 2003, acrylic and pencil on paper, 10×22 in., courtesy of the artist

Edward S. Curtis is one of the most prominent and recognized photographers of the 20th century; best known for his colossal photography collection “The North American Indian,” nine of which are displayed in this exhibition. He was born in 1868 near Whitewater, Wisconsin, only 130 miles from Dubuque. His adolescence coincided with the emergence of photography as an artistic medium. Photography captivated him from an early age and he would dedicate his life to the medium.

His family moved to Seattle, Washington in 1887 where Curtis became a professional photographer. Curtis honed his artistic skills photographing the residents in the Seattle area. But it was through the opportunities to work as a photographer on expeditions to the north, documenting the geography and indigenous people, that Curtis gained the skills and the desire to travel the country capturing images of North American Indian cultures.

For Curtis, “The North American Indian” project was a race against time. Their culture was rapidly changing and their traditions were disappearing. He received encouragement and financial assistance from President Teddy Roosevelt and J.P. Morgan but the grueling work required all of his energy and more resources than he could raise, subsequently he incurred large personal debt. He spent thirty years creating “The North American Indian” which consisted of 20 illustrated volumes of ethnographic text and over 720 large-format photogravures. He took more than 40,000 photographs; made over 10,000 recordings of Native speech and music; and produced lectures, slide shows, an opera and a documentary film all based on his this work.

Image: Edward S. Curtis, A Family Group — Noatak, The North American Indian, volume XX, plate 717, photogravure on Ductch Van Gelder paper, copyrighted 1928, 11 9/16×15 9/16 in., on long-term loan from the Carnegie-Stout Public Library, gift of Mrs. Emma H. Ward, LTL.1999.11.717

Snoopy as the World War I Flying Ace presented Charles M. Schulz’s lovable beagle, Snoopy, as his alter ego, the Flying Ace. The exhibition showcased 40 of Snoopy’s most exciting adventures in his transformed doghouse – now a Sopwith Camel airplane – from the time he faced a deadly bout of influenza to sparring with the Flying Ace’s archenemy, the Red Baron. Snoopy as the World War I Flying Ace is toured by ExhibitsUSA, the national touring division of Mid-America Arts Alliance, a non-profit regional arts organization based in Kansas City, Missouri.

Image: Charles Schulz at his work table, courtesy of ExhibitsUSA

The natural world changes and evolves either due to or despite the presence of mankind. In this exhibition featuring two Illinois artists, preserved and changing landscapes were explored. Bonnie Peterson’s quilts become visual journals from her national park expeditions. Nancy Steinmeyer’s innovative paintings focus on land development and its effects on the environment.

Image: Nancy Steinmeyer, Keep It Clean, 2001, acrylic on canvas and wire screen, 24x38x11 in., collection of the artist

The Dubuque Museum of Art presented a limited selection of Iowa City photographer, Sandra Dyas’ black and white photographs from her book “Down to the River: Portraits of Iowa Musicians.” Dyas spent 20 years shooting live performances and portraits of Iowa musicians – compiling a visual record of blues and blues-inspired rock musicians and music that are uniquely Iowan. Dyas captures the lives of the musicians on and off stage; never as a paparazzi photographer exploiting her prey but as an artist who loves and understands her subject. Many of the musicians in her book are popular and frequent performers at nightspots in Dubuque and throughout the tri-states area.
Sandra Dyas graduated from the University of Iowa in 1998 with an MFA in intermedia and video art. She teaches photography at Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa and is a freelance photographer. Dyas has exhibited her work in the Museum’s 2003 tri-state invitational and her series “The Lost Nation Photographs” was shown here in 2002.

Image: Sandra Dyas, Bo Ramsey, Lansing Music Festival, Lansing, Iowa, June 2004, gelatin silver print, 12×8 in., collection of the artist