Des Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857. It is located on, and named after, the Des Moines River, which likely was adapted from the early French name, Rivière des Moines, meaning "River of the Monks". The city's population was 214,133 as of the 2020 census. The six-county metropolitan area is ranked 83rd in terms of population in the United States with 699,292 residents according to the 2019 estimate by the United States Census Bureau, and is the largest metropolitan area fully located within the state.
The Des Moines Art Center is an art museum with an extensive collection of paintings, sculpture, modern art and mixed media. It was established in 1948 in Des Moines, Iowa.
Henry Ossawa Tanner was an American artist and the first African-American painter to gain international acclaim. Tanner moved to Paris, France, in 1891 to study at the Académie Julian and gained acclaim in French artistic circles. His painting Daniel in the Lions' Den was accepted into the 1896 Salon, the official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Tanner's Resurrection of Lazarus was purchased by the French government after winning the third-place medal at the 1897 Salon. In 1923, the French government elected Tanner chevalier of the Legion of Honor.
Bruce Walters, is an artist who has exhibited digital artworks, graphite drawings and paintings primarily in the American Midwest. Walters received his MFA from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and BA from the University of Iowa. He retired from Western Illinois University in 2021 and was conferred with the title Professor Emeritus.
Reuben Tam was an American landscape painter, educator, poet and graphic artist.
The American Gothic House, also known as the Dibble House, is a house in Eldon, Iowa, designed in the Carpenter Gothic style with a distinctive upper window. It was the backdrop of the 1930 painting American Gothic by Grant Wood, generally considered Wood's most famous work and among the most recognized paintings in twentieth century American art. Grant Wood, who observed the house only twice in his lifetime, made only an initial sketch of the house—he completed American Gothic at his studio in Cedar Rapids.
Lee Allen, born Edwin Lee Allen, was an American Regionalist painter, a muralist, and a medical illustrator, and an acclaimed ophthalmic photographer and ocularist.
Hoyt Sherman Place, the home of Hoyt Sherman, was built in 1877 and is located in Des Moines, Iowa.
Velma Wallace Rayness (1896–1977) was an American artist, writer, and instructor who lived in Iowa. She usually signed her paintings "V.W. Rayness."
The Des Moines Public Library (DMPL) is the public library system for the city of Des Moines, Iowa. It is the largest public library system in the state of Iowa, with a collection of 552,576 items housed at six locations.
John Paul Thomas was an American artist specializing in oil painting, watercolor and drawing in several media. He was also an educator and arts scholar.
Louise Frankel Rosenfield Noun was a feminist, social activist, philanthropist, and civil libertarian.
Agnes Weinrich (1873–1946) was an American visual artist. In the early twentieth century, she played a critical role in introducing cubist theory to American artists, collectors, and the general public and became one of the first American abstractionists. A life-long proponent of modernist art, she was an active participant in the art communities of Provincetown and New York. Early in her career, she traveled widely in Europe and spent extended periods studying in Paris and Berlin. She also studied art in Chicago, Provincetown, and New York. During most of her career, she worked in a Provincetown studio during the warm months and a Manhattan studio during the cold ones. Weinrich's easel work included oil paintings, watercolors, and pastels. She also made block prints and etchings and drew using pencil and crayon. Her paintings, prints, and drawings appeared in solo and group exhibitions throughout her career and she received favorable critical attention both during her life and after her death.
The Young Sabot Maker is an oil on canvas painting made by Henry Ossawa Tanner in 1895. Measuring 47 3/8 x 35 3/8 inches, the painting was purchased by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in 1995. The painting depicts an older man proudly watching a boy push with his weight against the crossbar handle of a sawhorse to carve a sabot, or wooden shoe. The two figures stand within the sabot maker's workshop, wood shavings scattered around them on the floor.
The Banjo Lesson is an 1893 oil painting by African-American artist Henry Ossawa Tanner. The painting has elements of American Realism and of French Impressionism. It depicts two African-Americans in a humble domestic setting: an old black man is teaching a young boy – possibly his grandson – to play the banjo. It has been held by Hampton University since 1894.
Fred Truck is an American artist currently living in West Des Moines, Iowa. He is noted for his performance art and cartoon imagery using painting, sculpture and digital constructions. In 1986, he was a co-creator of the Art Com Electronic Network, an online collaboration site for artists during the early days of the Internet. His work has been exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) as well as other museums and galleries in the USA and Japan. Throughout his career, his media have included software, virtual reality, graphics, sculpture, born-digital prints, and computer graphic design.
The Des Moines Women's Club, founded in 1885 as the women's club movement swept through the United States, today serves the Des Moines community by providing scholarships, support for the local arts community, and other civic projects.
The Thankful Poor is an 1894 genre painting by the African-American painter Henry Ossawa Tanner. It depicts two African Americans praying at a table, and shares common themes with Tanner's other paintings from the 1890s including The Banjo Lesson (1893) and The Young Sabot Maker (1895). The work is based on photographs Tanner had taken, and is influenced by his views on education and race, which were in turn derived from those of his father, Benjamin Tucker Tanner, and the African Methodist Episcopal Church. The painting is considered a milestone in African-American art, notably for its countering of racial stereotypes.
Russell Cowles (1887–1979) was an American artist who painted landscapes, still lifes, and human forms in a style that combined both modernist and traditional elements. In 1947 the New York Times critic Howard Devree said "his work shows a remarkably dynamic understanding of both traditional occidental and oriental painting as well as of the abstract principles which activate and underlie the modern movement as such". Over a career that spanned some fifty years, he achieved an unusual degree of success as measured by gallery representation, commercial sales of his work, critical reception, and representation in museum collections. He traveled widely throughout his life, combining the study and practice of art with an interest in learning about distant places and cultures. These travels included a circumferential world tour of nearly two years as well as frequent trips to Europe and travel within the United States.
The Annunciation is an 1898 painting by the African-American painter Henry Ossawa Tanner. It depicts the biblical scene of the Annunciation, where the archangel Gabriel visits Mary to announce that she will give birth to Jesus. The painting is held by the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
