Davenport, Iowa (December 3, 2014) -The Figge Art Museum is offering holiday tours at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, December 7, 14 and 21.

The themed tours include selections of works from the museum's permanent collection and are designed to get visitors in touch with the spirit of the season.

December 7 with Barb Hansen

The Figge has an outstanding collection of religious art from the Mexican Colonial period. This Advent-inspired tour will prepare hearts and minds for the joyous season to come. View and discuss several paintings depicting events in the life of Christ. The lovely works, most of them painted in the 15th and 16^th centuries, were meant to be easily understood and to promote emotion and piety.

December 14 with Sue Staley

"Wishing and hoping and thinking and praying, planning and dreaming..." is more than the lyrics to a pop song. This tour will focus on the Advent journey in visual art, past and present.

December 21 with Sue Staley

Advent is a time for preparation and reflection. Share and reflect on some favorite Christmas Story traditions saved through song and verse, and depicted through visual art.

In addition to holiday tours, the museum will also offer tours of Self-Taught Genius: Treasures from the American Folk Art Museum on Saturday, December 6 and 13 at 1:30 p.m. This exhibition is making its first stop on a National tour right here at the Figge. It's a must-see show and the tour delves a little deeper into the works on display.

Figge tours are free with paid admission or membership.

About the Figge Art Museum

The Figge Art Museum is located on the riverfront in downtown Davenport at 225 West Second Street. Hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday and Sundays 12-5 p.m. Thursdays the museum is open until 9 p.m. Admission to the museum and tour is $7. Admission is free to Figge members and institutional members and free to all on Thursday evenings from 5 p.m. - 9 p.m. To contact the museum, please call 563.326.7804, or visit www.figgeartmuseum.org.

Groundbreaking Touring Exhibition Made Possible by a Generous Grant from the Henry Luce Foundation as part of its 75th Anniversary Initiative

Davenport, Iowa (November 10, 2014) - A groundbreaking exhibition originated by the American Folk Art Museum in New York will be making its first stop on a national tour at the Figge Art Museum in downtown Davenport. The exhibition opens this Saturday, November 15.

Self-Taught Genius: Treasures from the American Folk Art Museum features 115 artworks made between the early 18th and 21st centuries, ranging from portraits and needleworks to wooden shop figures and found-object sculptures. All are the compelling, beautifully realized work of self-taught artists which provide a fresh perspective on artistic impulse and our national character.

The exhibition and the national tour of Self-Taught Genius: Treasures from the American Folk Art Museum are made possible by generous funding from the Henry Luce Foundation as part of its 75th anniversary initiative. Dr. Michael Gilligan, president of the Foundation said, "For 75 years, the Henry Luce Foundation has fostered scholarship, innovation, and leadership?also attributes of the American Folk Art Museum. We are proud to sponsor a national tour of their exemplary collection that represents distinctive American creativity."

"This exhibition serves as a landmark," commented Anne-Imelda Radice, Ph.D., Executive Director of the American Folk Art Museum, "by locating the genesis of a field that has grown and become even more complex than ever before, and by clarifying its scope and substance. Self-Taught Genius: Treasures from the American Folk Art Museum provides new insight into the critical role of artists all-too-often overlooked."

Developed and organized by Deputy Director for Curatorial Affairs, Chief Curator, and Director of Exhibitions Stacy C. Hollander and Curator of Art of the Self-Taught and Art Brut Valérie Rousseau, Ph.D., the exhibition highlights the roles of self-taught artists as figures central to the shared history of America whose contributions to the national life and conversation are paramount. The works are by a diverse group of artists and represent more than 50 years of institutional collecting.

Works on view will include : Girl in Red Dress with Cat and Dog, c. 1830-1835, an oil on canvas by Ammi Phillips (1788-1865); The Encyclopedic Palace of the World, c. 1950s, a towering model designed by Marino Auriti (1891-1980) for a new museum meant to hold all of human discovery in every field; Flag Gate, c. 1876, a once-working gate by an unidentified artist to celebrate the nation's centennial, which was a donation to the American Folk Art Museum in 1962 and its first acquisition; a 6'-wide paneled watercolor, and various bound and unbound volumes of the writings of Henry Darger (1892-1973), whose archive was established at the Museum in 2000; an exquisitely stitched Whig Rose and Swag Border Quilt, c. 1850, made by unidentified slaves on the Morton Plantation in Russellville, Kentucky; the monumental Mother Symbolically Represented/The Kathredal, 1936, an ink rendering on rag paper by Achilles Rizzoli (1896-1981), who loved to play with words, and frequently used anagrams, acronyms, and neologisms in his work; works by Morris Hirschfield (1872-1946); Sister Gertrude Morgan (1900-1980); Horace Pippin (1888-1946); Martín Ramírez (1895-1963); Judith Scott (1943-2005); Mary T. Smith (c. 1904-1995); and other artists from many parts of the country, working in such media as drawing, painting, textiles, bones, wood, ceramics and more.

"The Figge Art Museum is honored to have the opportunity to make these American masterworks available to audiences in the Midwest. Our region has a rich tradition of folk arts, from duck decoys to weathervanes, and the exhibition will deepen our understanding and appreciation of our artistic heritage," commented Tim Schiffer, Executive Director.

A fully-illustrated color catalog with essays by the curators, published by the American Folk Art Museum and Marquand Books, will accompany the exhibition, and is available for purchase in the Museum Store.

This exhibition is sponsored locally by John Deere Foundation and Genesis. It is funded in part with a grant from the Iowa Arts Council, a division of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Self-Taught Genius will be on view at the Figge through March 15, 2015.

Companion Programming:

Exhibition Opening Reception/Curator Talk

Thursday, November 20

5:30 p.m. Opening Reception

7 p.m. Curator Talk

Stacy Hollander, deputy director for curatorial affairs, chief curator and director of exhibitions at the American Folk Art Museum, will discuss the vision behind Self-Taught Genius and share new discoveries about select artworks in the exhibition.

Exhibition Tours

1:30 p.m. Saturdays

November 22, December 6, 13

1:30 p.m. Sunday, November 23

Musical Tour

7p.m. Thursday, February 12

Listen to the acoustic styling of singer/songwriter Sarah Allner as she performs original songs inspired by five artworks in the Self-Taught Genius exhibition.

Free Family Day

Saturday, February 21

10 a.m. - 1 p.m. Guided Activities

Enjoy hands-on art projects, performances and gallery activities. Free admission all day!

Davenport, Iowa (September 25, 2014) -African American Art Since 1950: Perspectives from the David C. Driskell Center is a new exhibition that will be opening on Saturday at the Figge Art Museum.

Sponsored by the John Deere Foundation, the exhibition chronicles the evolution and growing prominence of African American art over the past 60 years. Featuring over sixty works that cover a wide range of art styles and media, the artists explore recurring themes of race, gender, American history and slavery as well as the importance of body for artistic expression.

Artists include luminaries such as Faith Ringgold, Romare Bearden, Elizabeth Catlett and Sam Gilliam who opened up the possibilities for African American art and more recent examples by artists like Kara Walker, Chakaia Booker and Willie Cole. Collectively these artists reflect the growing prominence and complexity of the field of African American Art over the last six decades.

"Each of the works on display provides a glimpse into the evolution of African American Art and its significant contributions to the art of the United States," said Figge Curator Dr. Rima Girnius.

The exhibition is organized by the David C. Driskell Center for the Study of the Visual Arts and Culture of African Americans and the African Diaspora at the University of Maryland. It will be on view in the third floor gallery through January 4, 2015.

Companion Programming:

Free Family Day

Saturday September 27

10 a.m. - 1 p.m. Guided Activities

Celebrate the special exhibition from the Driskell Center with hands-on art projects, performances and gallery activities. Free admission all day. Sponsored by Quad-City Times.

Film: The Loving Story

6:30 p.m. Thursday, October 2

As part of the Created Equal: America's Civil Rights Struggle initiative of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), the Afro-American Heritage Center is hosting the documentary The Loving Story, which provides the definitive account of Loving v. Virginia, the 1967 Supreme Court decision to legalize interracial marriage. A discussion will follow.

Exhibition Opening

Thursday, October 16

5:30 p.m. Opening Reception/7 p.m. Talk

Dorit Yaron, deputy director of the Driskell Center, will speak about the Driskell Center and describe the process of curating the exhibition. Professor Curlee R. Holton, executive director, will discuss the Driskell

Center and the exhibition as they pertain to the larger scope of African American art and the American art canon.

Interpretive Response in Dance and Music

7 p.m. Thursday, October 23

Dorian Byrd?founder, director, choreographer and instructor for Imani! Dancers & Studio for Cultural Arts?will collaborate with musician and professor Coleman Harris to interpret select artworks in a performance. This program is made possible by an Arts Dollar$ grant from Quad City Arts and the group artsBASICS for coordinating this community collaboration.

Art Talk

7 p.m. Thursday, November 6

Dr. Jo-Ann Morgan will speak on African American visual culture. Dr. Morgan is Associate Professor in the African American Studies Department at Western Illinois University.

Exhibition Tours

1:30 p.m. Saturdays, October 4, 11

1:30 p.m. Sundays, October 5, 19

About the Figge Art Museum

The Figge Art Museum is located on the riverfront in downtown Davenport at 225 West Second Street. Hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday and Sundays 12-5 p.m. Thursdays the museum is open until 9 p.m. Admission to the museum and tour is $7. Admission is free to Figge members and institutional members and free to all on Thursday evenings from 5 p.m. - 9 p.m. To contact the museum, please call 563.326.7804, or visit www.figgeartmuseum.org.

Davenport, Iowa (August 28, 2014) - Starting Saturday a selection of over twenty works from the Figge's permanent collection will be on display in the Lewis Gallery. The works will showcase artists who have been inspired by the unique qualities and expressive potential of wood.

Ranging from delicate vessels to large, free-standing sculptures, the artwork will celebrate the natural beauty of wood and challenge perceptions of art and art-making.

"Much of the beauty of a turned work of art depends on chance and is an accident of nature. A wood turner not only creates, but uncovers qualities inherent in the wood such as the grain patterns, cracks, worm holes and variations in hue," said Figge Curator Rima Girnius.

In addition to using traditional techniques of lathe-turning (spinning a piece of wood and shaping it with a hand held chisel), the artists explore various methods for altering and modifying the surface of their vessels including carving motifs, applying paint or beading to the surface and sandblasting for textural effect.

Contributing artists will include Steve Sinner, Lane Philips, Galan Carpenter, Harvey Fein, Liam O'Neill, Michael Mode, Stuart Mortimer and many others. The installation will also feature several recent acquisitions, including Michael Peterson's New Terrain (2008), made possible through the generosity of the Windgate Charitable Foundation.

This exhibition will be on display through January 25, 2015 and is organized by Figge Preparator Robin Hill.

About the Figge Art Museum

The Figge Art Museum is located on the riverfront in downtown Davenport at 225 West Second Street. Hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday and Sundays 12-5 p.m. Thursdays the museum is open until 9 p.m. Admission to the museum and tour is $7. Admission is free to Figge members and institutional members and free to all on Thursday evenings from 5 p.m. - 9 p.m. To contact the museum, please call 563.326.7804, or visit www.figgeartmuseum.org.