“Beth Van Hoesen: Prints from the Permanent Collection,” through March 9

Through Sunday, March 9

Muscatine Art Center, 1314 Mulberry Avenue, Muscatine IA

Featuring 26 beautiful paintings and drawings by a noted graduate of Stanford University and the California School of Fine Arts, the colorful exhibition Beth Van Hoesen: Prints from the Permanent Collection will be on display at the Muscatine Art Center through March 9, the collection's opening held on the top floor of the historic Musser-McColm mansion.

In 2012, the Muscatine Art Center’s permanent collection was enriched by a gift of 26 prints and drawings by American artist Beth Van Hoesen, from the E. Mark Adams and Beth Van Hoesen Trust of San Francisco, California. The gifted work includes the medias of graphite, colored pencil, watercolor, aquatint, etching, drypoint, engraving, and lithography.

Van Hoesen created a remarkable body of graphic art in a career spanning more than five decades. At a time in which most contemporary art was conceptual or abstract, she pursued drawing and printmaking in an academic manner, reminiscent of the centuries old tradition of draftsmanship that includes the work of Albrecht Durer and Hans Holbein. Born in Boise, Idaho in 1926, Van Hoesen studied art at Stanford University, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1948. After graduating from Stanford, she studied art in France and later at the California School of Fine Arts (San Francisco Art Institute).

The charming prints and drawings in the Muscatine Art Center’s permanent collection all depict Van Hoesen’s beautifully rendered flowers. Some pieces show lone flowers, where they are almost portrait-like and evocative of the flowers done by Georgia O'Keeffe, while others embody a more formal still-life, such as her suites of prints titled Cups of Flowers, where she concerns herself with the small pleasures of the arrangement and the decorative elements of the cups.

Museums with works by Van Hoesen in their collections include the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco; Art Institute of Chicago; Boise Art Museum; Brooklyn Museum; Cincinnati Art Museum; Honolulu Academy of Arts; Smithsonian Institution; University Museums, Iowa State University; Victoria and Albert Museum, London, and numerous other institutions.

The Muscatine Art Center was established as a museum in 1965 when Laura Musser's heirs, Mary Catherine McWhirter and Mary Musser Gilmore, donated the Musser Mansion to the City of Muscatine. Showcasing the 1908 Musser Mansion and the contemporary Stanley Gallery, the Muscatine Art Center offers decorative arts associated with the original home, as well as new and exciting exhibitions in constant rotation. The Muscatine Art Center is also one of only 1,070 museums nationwide accredited by the American Association of Museums (AAM). This honor signifies that the Muscatine Art Center has undergone a rigorous and lengthy process involving intensive self-examination, peer review and a thorough examination by the Accreditation Commission. Accreditation by AAM means the Muscatine Art Center is recognized for demonstrating excellence and operating in accordance with the best practices and highest standards in the field.

Beth Van Hoesen: Prints from the Permanent Collection will be on view through March 9, and regular gallery hours are Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Saturdays and Sundays from 1 to 5 p.m. Donations are appreciated, and more information is available by calling (563)263-8282 and visiting MuscatineArtCenter.org.