Davenport, Iowa (October 9, 2015) - Edward S. Curtis: One Hundred Masterworks will be on view at the Figge Art Museum beginning Saturday in the third floor gallery. The exhibition features a selection of 100 images of the Native American people of the United States taken by renowned photographer Edward S. Curtis.

In 1900, Edward Curtis (born in 1868) set out on a monumental quest to make an unprecedented, comprehensive record of the North American Indian. He traveled to Alaska, the Southwest and the Great Plains in search of his subjects. Over the next 30 years he produced more than 40,000 photographs of Native peoples. The culmination of his project resulted in a 20-volume, 20 portfolio set of handmade books entitled: The North American Indian?one of the most ambitious publishing projects in American history.

With an approximate cost of $35 million in today's dollars, Curtis' effort involved more than 100 assistants, artisans, salespeople and support staff, and required the collaboration of an estimated 10,000 Native Americans who posed or otherwise assisted the photographer. The project bankrupted him and ruined his health, and he died in obscurity in 1952, but today his work is considered a masterpiece of photography and a priceless record of Native American culture.

Visitors to the One Hundred Masterworks exhibition will have the opportunity to view well-known and rare images of Native Americans that range from portraits, including notables such as Red Cloud, to traditional scenes and ceremonies. Included are platinum prints, goldtones, cyanotypes and the more common photogravures, drawn from the largest existing collection of Curtis' work. The photographs are increasingly prized for their artistic value and present a historical record of enormous and irreplaceable importance.

One Hundred Masterworks will be on display October 10, 2015-January 17, 2016 and is sponsored by The Hunt and Diane Harris Family Foundation.

The Edward S. Curtis: One Hundred Masterworks book by collector, curator and Curtis authority Christopher Cardozo will be available for purchase in the Museum Store.

COMPANION EVENTS:
Opening Reception 

Friday, October 9

5:30 p.m. Members' Reception

7 p.m. Curator Talk

Members are invited to partake in light appetizers in the lobby to celebrate the opening of the exhibition. All are welcome at 7 p.m. to listen to collector, curator and Curtis authority Christopher Cardozo speak.

Documentary Film

7 p.m. Thursday, November 5

Language Healers tells the story of Native peoples striving to revitalize their languages and explores the importance of Native languages and cultures to Alaskans.

Talk

7 p.m. Thursday, November 19

Jane Simonsen, PhD, will present her research on Native American visual culture as it relates to the exhibition.

Family Day

10 a.m. - 1 p.m. Saturday, January 9, 2016

Docent-led Tours

1:30 p.m. Saturday, October 17

1:30 p.m. Sunday, October 18

Free with museum admission

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 noon to 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. to 9 p.m. To contact the museum, please call 563.326.7804, or visit www.figgeartmuseum.org.

WALCOTT, IOWA -- Iowa 80 Trucking Museum is currently expanding the museum by adding on to the current truck Exhibit Hall.  The expansion will add an additional 26,400 square feet; nearly doubling the Truck Exhibit Hall space.  When complete, there will be space for over 130 trucks to be on display in the museum.  "We are excited about this project," says Dave Meier, museum curator.  "We will have the ability to share so much more of our truck collection with visitors."

Iowa 80 Trucking Museum expects the expansion to be completed in late Spring 2016.

###

One of our last fundraising events of the year is coming up this weekend! Please join us for our annual Arts & Draughts Beer Tasting Event this Saturday, Oct. 3rd from 6-8. This event supports our programming and exhibitions for 2016! We hope to have your support for exciting programs next year on topics such as Thomas Nast, Trains, and even Germans in Hollywood. We couldn't do it without your support!

Call 563-322-8844 to reserve your tickets at the $20 price! Day of sales go up to $25

We proudly present delicious German style beers from MUGZ as well as the music of Enjoy with Troy and brat baskets for purchase from Jerry's Market!

• Verifying the location of the town
• Strategies for identifying misspelled town names
• Finding historical jurisdictions for that town
• Finding records for that town
• Useful aids for reading those records
• Tips for hiring a professional genealogist in Germany, when necessary

Rock Island, IL: The Rock Island Library will host a new abstract art exhibit by Rock Island artist Elaine Shepherd Rexdale during October at the Main Library location.

Her exhibit, I Met a wo(Man) Who Wasn't There, is inspired by the poem Antigonish by Hughes Mearns. "Yesterday, upon the stair/I met a man who wasn't there./He wasn't there again today,/I wish, I wish he'd go away/When I came home last night at three,/The man was waiting there for me/But when I looked around the hall, I couldn't see him there at all! . . . "

Elaine Rexdale has worked in the educational field for her entire adult life. Her chosen career took her to Illinois, Louisiana and New York, before returning to make Rock Island her home. Inspiration comes from a life-long hobby of people watching, and the worlds of art and music. Her abstract acrylic paintings use bold strokes and bright colors to convey excitement and energy.

"For me, the visually most interesting is not in perfection, but imperfection," says Rexdale.  "I want viewers to experience the beauty of movement, design, and color, even if the message I'm attempting to convey is not immediately recognized,"

Rexdale regularly exhibits at Midcoast Fine Arts and Geneseo Art League, and recently completed a showing at Galesburg Civic Art Center. Her exhibit will be on display in the Rock Island Main Library's 2nd floor gallery space, 401 19th Street, from Sept. 30 to Oct. 31 during the day and in the evening during library programs.

For more free library events for all ages, pick up a fall events brochure at library locations, call 309-732-READ or visit the library website at www.rockislandlibrary.org.

# # #