…quote taken from the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art website. “Inspired by the extraordinary art gathered together at the World’s Colombian Exposition in Chicago, community leaders from Cedar Rapids formed an art club in 1895.  Ten years later, when they were offered a specially designed gallery in the new Carnegie Library, the club incorporated as the Cedar Rapids Art Association and began exhibiting art in a gallery in the newly built Carnegie Library.  The first painting was acquired for the collection in 1906.  Local artists were often important members, helping arrange exhibitions, lectures, and special events.  Among the most active members in the early 1920s were artists Grant Wood and his close friend Marvin Cone.  Receiving Federal support from 1930 to 1935, the Association also ran the highly regarded Little Gallery, directed by Ed Rowan, who later helped run the Public Works of Art Project.

…In 2014, the CRMA completed the 3RD Capital Campaign begun in early 2013. Funds raised made it possible  to remove the ramp along 3rd Avenue and replace it with new public gathering areas, a stairway opening directly onto 3rd Avenue, and a sculpture. Needed updates were made to the roof, the atrium doorways, and the installation of two backflow prevention valves. There have also been extensive efforts made to refresh the exterior and interior of both the Carnegie Library wing and the Charles Moore gallery wing.”

For more information on Current Exhibition and Art please visit the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art website.