“Model Museum" at the Figge Art Museum -- July 1 through August 31.
Tuesday, July 1, through Sunday, August 31
Figge Art Museum, 225 West Second Street, Davenport IA
Located on the north bank of the Mississippi River in Davenport, boasting an encyclopedic collection, and serving as the major art museum for the eastern Iowa and western Illinois region, the Figge Art Museum celebrates the 20th anniversary of its opening on August 6. And from July 1 through August 31, this landmark cultural center will be celebrated in the venue's Model Museum, an exhibition saluting what was among British architect David Chipperfield's first architectural commissions in the United States.
In 1999, representatives from the Davenport Museum of Art selected Sir David Chipperfield – then an emerging force in contemporary architecture – from a pool of six firms to design a new museum on the Davenport riverfront. Six years later, the completed building opened to widespread acclaim, celebrated for its clean lines, luminous green glass façade, and dramatic interior spaces.
This exhibition marks the 20th anniversary of the Figge Art Museum’s opening and explores the creative journey behind its design, from Chipperfield’s earliest sketches to the final architectural vision. Featuring original drawings, photographs, and models, the display highlights how the architect responded to the riverfront site, the needs of the institution, and the surrounding community. Model Museum also examines the recent addition of Leo Villareal’s Evanescent Field, and how it has been thoughtfully integrated into the building’s exterior.
The Figge was originally formed as the Davenport Municipal Art Gallery in 1925, with the passage of a law allowing the city to accept of a gift of 334 artworks from a former mayor, Charles A. Ficke, and open a museum. It was renamed the Davenport Museum of Art in 1987. It continued to be a city-run museum until the opening of its new building in 2005, which was named in honor of a major gift from the V.O. and Elizabeth Kahl Figge Foundation. At that time, the city transferred responsibility for management, care and exhibition of its collection to the Figge Art Museum, a nonprofit organization. Ficke’s original collection of European, American and Spanish Viceregal art has grown through the efforts of generations of philanthropists and civic leaders and now includes the Grant Wood Archive and works by other American Regionalist artists, an extensive collection of Haitian art, and contemporary works. The Figge is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums.
Model Museum will be on display in the Davenport museum's Gildehaus Gallery from July 1 through August 31, with regular museum hours 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesdays through Saturdays (10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursdays) and noon to 5 p.m. on Sundays. Museum admission is $8-14, and more information is available by calling (563)326-7804 and visiting FiggeArtMuseum.org.
