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History of the School of Art and Art History

1965 - 2000

portrait of Frank Seiberling book cover of Looking into Art by Frank Seiberling Frank Seiberling (1908-1990), art historian and Director of the School of Art and Art History from 1959-1976, encouraged the creation of the University of Iowa Museum of Art. He greatly expanded the Art History faculty and added Intermedia to the Studio Art curriculum
portrait of Owen and Leone Elliott painting by Henri Matisse from the Elliott collection titled Blue Interior with Two Girls Owen and Leone Elliott were passionate art lovers who gave their extensive collection of modern art to the University under the condition that a museum be built to benefit both students and the public
exterior view of the University of Iowa Art Museum interior view of the University of Iowa Art Museum with Jackson Pollock Mural The University of Iowa Museum of Art opened in 1969, although the art collections of the University of Iowa predate the Museum by several decades. During the 1940s and 1950s, the University's School of Art and Art History presented exhibitions of contemporary art and purchased works from these exhibitions. Many of the Museum's most important paintings were acquired during these years, including Max Beckmann's Karneval, and Joan Miró's 1939 A Drop of Dew Falling from the Wing of a Bird Awakens Rosalie Asleep in the Shade of a Cobweb. Jackson Pollock's Mural was given to the University by Peggy Guggenheim in 1951.
portrait of David Hockney painting by David Hockney titled The Bigger Splash David Hockney taught painting at the University of Iowa in 1964. Hockney became internationally famous in the early 1960s as one of the leaders of the Pop Art movement in the United Kingdom. He emigrated to the United States and was known for his "swimming pool" paintings during the 1960s, for elaborate stage sets during the 1970s and for photo collages during the 1980s.
portrait of Ana Mendieta photograph of Ana Mendieta performance as the Arbol de la Vida Born in 1948 in Havana, Cuba, Ana Mendieta left her native country in 1961. Much of Mendieta's work expresses the pain and rupture of cultural displacement and resonates with visceral metaphors of death, rebirth, and spiritual transformation. A seminal figure in feminist art practice of the 1970s, she devised an emblematic, at times mythical, female iconography. Mendieta received an MFA from the University of Iowa in 1972.
portrait of Wallace Tomasini book cover of The Barbaric Tremissis in Span by Wallace Tomasini Wallace J. Tomasini Director of the School of Art and Art History from 1973 to 1993. He updated and expanded the Art Building complex and encouraged study abroad programs in the arts, including courses in Mexico. Collaborated with Joyce Summerwill at the UI Hospitals and Clinics in 1978 to implement Project Art, a program to make art accessible to hospital patients.
portrait of Charles Ray photograph of Charles Ray performance titled Plank Piece Charles Ray (born in 1953) is widely regarded as one of the most significant artists of his generation. He received a BFA from the University of Iowa in 1975. Ray is best known for his sculptures of altered and refashioned familiar objects.
portrait of Maxwell and Elizabeth Stanley African art from the Stanley collection at the University of Iowa Art Museum Maxwell and Elizabeth Stanley enjoyed sharing their love of African art with students. They donated their collection of 800 objects to the University of Iowa Museum of Art from 1984-1991. It has been described as one of the most important university collections in America.