Davenport, Iowa (October 2012) – The Figge Art Museum is please to announce that on October 27, 2012 the museum will open a new installation of Rose Frantzen's nationally celebrated Portrait of Maquoketa exhibition.  The new, multi-dimensional installation, entitled Portrait of Maquoketa - The Dimensional View, will include 180 portraits of Maquoketans and a 240 square foot landscape view of Maquoketa. Major funding for this exhibition has been provided by the Riverboat Development Authority, USBank, Dr. Ralph and Jennifer Saintfort and SSAB.

From July 2005 to July 2006, Rose Frantzen democratized portraiture, inviting anyone in her hometown of Maquoketa, Iowa to sit for a portrait painted from life. All 180 oil painting portraits that Frantzen created were displayed at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery from November 6, 2009 through July 5, 2010.  The portraits were accompanied by a narrative sound composition created by Rose's brother, John Frantzen featuring the voices of those who posed speaking about their lives and about Maquoketa.  The 12x12" head and shoulders portraits were each painted in a four or five hour sitting in a storefront on Main St. that was open to the public.  "I wanted to bring to my community a tangible connection with the creative process," says Frantzen.  "By making them the subject, I hoped that their interest would be stirred and that they would be touched somehow by what painting can reveal about the human experience."  With ages ranging from 4 days old to 99 years old, Frantzen captured a beautiful and moving cross-section portrait of her town.

For the Figge Art Museum installation of Portrait of Maquoketa - The Dimensional View, Frantzen is painting a 240 square foot landscape view of Maquoketa from the hills outside town that is broken up on 34 vertical panels suspended from the ceiling.  The other side of each panels acts as a frame for the portraits.  When visitors sit at one end of the exhibition all the sections of the landscape come together and align as one.  From this vantage point, visitors will hear a second voice and music piece composed by John Frantzen.  Press ready images of Ms. Frantzen painting the landscape are available online (http://oldcityhallgallery.com/POMFiggePress/1.html).  The portraits, the landscape, and the voice/music compositions were funded in part by the Iowa Arts Council, a division of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs.  The Ceres Trust sponsored the Smithsonian exhibition.

"Although Portrait of Maquoketa has gone places I never imagined," says Rose, "I have felt from the start a desire to set the portrait of the town into a larger framework, namely the landscape - showing this community nestled within the Iowan countryside.  The opportunity to show in the beautiful and expansive third floor gallery of the Figge compelled me to realize my initial vision."  The new three-dimensional installation was conceived and designed by Rose in collaboration with her husband, artist Charles Morris, who mapped out the enlargement of Rose's landscape onto panels that vary in size from three and a half feet tall to over ten feet tall.  The original landscape, which Rose painted on location in the early spring of this year, is transformed to fill a 90 degree view with 30 feet in depth.

Frantzen and Morris are part of a resurgence in Regionalism in Eastern Iowa and are exclusively represented by a gallery that is run by Rose's parents in the Old City Hall of Maquoketa.  OldCityHallGallery.com features their work, provides further details on the Portrait of Maquoketa project, and offers the hardcover Portrait of Maquoketa book.

The Figge Art Museum exhibition, which runs from October 27th, 2012 to January 20th, 2013 will include a lecture and slideshow by Frantzen at 7pm on November 1st and a portrait painting demonstration by Frantzen on Saturday, November 3rd from 12:30 to 4:30pm.

Rose Frantzen Biographical Information: A native of Maquoketa, Iowa, Rose Frantzen has gained national and international acclaim for her oil paintings from life that bring contemporary and innovative perspectives to a traditional alla prima approach.  In addition to landscapes, still lifes, and figurative works, Frantzen often moves to the allegorical, including abstract or surreal settings that present the subject as an archetypal character seen on his or her own internal stage.  For these multi-dimensional works, she incorporates diverse stylistic elements along with gilding, stained glass, and mosaic.

With a grant from the Iowa Arts Council, a division of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs, Frantzen completed Portrait of Maquoketa, a yearlong community-oriented project in which she painted any Maquoketa residents willing to sit for a four or five hour session.  All 180 portraits completed for the project were shown at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. from November 6, 2009 to July 5, 2010.  Her work has also shown at the Butler Museum of Art, the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, the Dubuque Museum of Art, the Denver Historical Museum, the World Food Prize, and the Portrait Society of America's International Portrait Competition.

Frantzen is a frequent guest lecturer and panelist discussing art and the artist's life in the 21st century at museums and national art conventions.  Her paintings have been featured in numerous national and international art magazines and journals, and she demonstrates portrait painting each year as a faculty member for the Portrait Society of America and for the annual Weekend With the Masters conference.  Frantzen is represented exclusively by Old City Hall Gallery in Maquoketa, Iowa, where she shows with her husband, Charles Morris.

Frantzen studied at the American Academy of Art in Chicago, the Palette & Chisel Academy with Richard Schmid, and at the Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts, studying anatomy with the late Deane G. Keller.

About the Figge Art Museum

The Figge Art Museum, formerly the Davenport Museum of Art, opened August 6, 2005. The award-winning building designed by architect David Chipperfield holds a collection of approximately 3,500 works that reflect artistic styles and developments from the Renaissance to contemporary art, with particular strengths in American Regionalist, Mexican Colonial, and Haitian art.  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, Sundays 12-5 p.m. and Thursdays 10 a.m.- 9p.m. To contact the museum, please call 563.326.7804, or visit our website, www.figgeartmuseum.org.

Explore over a century of Cedar Rapids history through guided evening tours of Brucemore, a 21-room Victorian Mansion, Tuesday, October 16 and Wednesday, October 17 from 5:00 to 7:30 p.m. Experience the art, furnishings, technology, architecture, and stories preserved at Brucemore. Tours will begin every 30 minutes and last approximately 50 minutes. The last tour will start at 7:30 p.m. Admission is $7.00 for adults, $3.00 for children between the ages of 6 and 18, and free to Brucemore members. Purchase tickets the night of tour in the Brucemore Store and Visitor Center.

Brucemore is offering evening tours in conjunction with the new fall event?Scarecrow Invasion. From October 13 through 27, visitors will find scarecrows made by families, organizations, and businesses on display around the property. Awards for best scarecrow and various other categories voted on by the public will be announced on October 22. For more information on the Scarecrow Invasion or how to participate, please call (319) 362-7375 or visit www.brucemore.org.

Experience Brucemore, an unparalleled blend of tradition and culture, located at 2160 Linden Drive SE, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. At the heart of the historic 26-acre estate stands a nineteenth-century mansion filled with the stories of three Cedar Rapids families.  Concerts, theater, programs, and tours enliven the site and celebrate the heritage of a community.  For more information, call (319) 362-7375 or visit www.brucemore.org.

Rock Island artist Bill Marsoun will exhibit his works at the Rock Island Main Library second-floor art gallery, 401 19^th Street from Oct. 2 to 31.

Marsoun's work may be well known to local theater patrons. For the past 40 years, he has been the principal scenic artist for the Quad City Music Guild, painting full-stage scenic backdrops on canvas measuring 16 by 40 feet, as well as directing shows. "Over the years, I have worked in almost every high school and community theater in the Illinois Quad Cities," says Marsoun.

More recently, Marsoun has concentrated on a more professional approach to art, selling works on a broader scale. He enjoys working in watercolor and acrylic, painting floral scenes, landscapes and presentations of golf holes. His work is presented at Stardog Gallery in the Bucktown Arts Center in Davenport, and in a showing at Creekside Winery in Coal Valley. In December, Marsoun will show his works in Creston, Iowa. His paintings can also be seen in local pubs, vineyards and restaurants.

Marsoun taught math and art at Washington Junior High in Rock Island for 35 years, and is a graduate of Alleman High School and Illinois State University. He resides in Rock Island with his wife, Cathy.

For more news about library events and hours, visit the library website at www.rockislandlibrary.org, sign up for an email newsletter, follow the library on Facebook or Twitter, or call 309-732-7323 (READ.)

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Davenport, IOWA (September 2012) – On Saturday, September 29, 2012, the Figge Art Museum will participate in the Smithsonian's annual Museum Day. The Museum will join other participating museums and cultural institutions nationwide to open their doors free of charge to all visitors who download the Museum Day Ticket from Smithsonian.com. Museum Day is a celebration of the dissemination of knowledge to anyone and everyone interested, without a price tag, emulating the free admission policy of the Smithsonian Institution's Washington, DC-based facilities.

Museum Day will give visitors the opportunity to see the Figge's Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service exhibition, "NASA | ART 50 Years of Exploration" before it closes on October 7. Also on view will be "Posing Beauty in African American Culture" and "Waxing Poetic: Exploring Expression in Art," as well as the Museum's permanent collection.  For more information about Figge exhibitions, please visit www.figgeartmuseum.org.

The Museum Day Ticket is available to download at www.smithsonian.com/museumday.

A list of participating museums is available at www.smithsonianmag.com/museumday/venues/. Visitors who present the official pass will gain free admission for two people to participating museums and cultural venues. One ticket is permitted per household, per email address. For more information about Smithsonian magazine Museum Day 2012 and links to participating museums' and supporters' sites, please visit Smithsonian.com/museumday.

About the Figge Art Museum

The Figge Art Museum, formerly the Davenport Museum of Art, opened August 6, 2005. The award-winning building designed by architect David Chipperfield holds a collection of approximately 3,500 works that reflect artistic styles and developments from the Renaissance to contemporary art, with particular strengths in American Regionalist, Mexican Colonial, and Haitian art.  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, Sundays 12-5 p.m.and Thursdays 10 a.m.- 9p.m. To contact the museum, please call 563.326.7804, or visit our website, www.figgeartmuseum.org.

About Smithsonian Media
Smithsonian Media comprises Smithsonian magazine, Air & Space, goSmithsonian, Smithsonian Media Digital Network and the Smithsonian Channel. Smithsonian Media's flagship publication, Smithsonian magazine, is one of the nation's largest magazines with a circulation of more than 2 million and nearly 7 million readers. Smithsonian Media is a division of Smithsonian Enterprises, the revenue-generating business unit of the Smithsonian Institution. The Smithsonian Institution is the world's largest museum and research complex consisting of 19 museums and galleries, the National Zoological Park and nine research facilities. Approximately 30 million people from around the world visited the Smithsonian in 2010.