CEDAR RAPIDS MUSEUM OF ART, IOWA: Grant Wood, Conger Metcalf, Mauricio Lasansky and More, Guest Post by Barbara Siebenschuh

Corn Cob Chandelier for Iowa Corn Room.
Grant Wood (February 13, 1891-February 12, 1942) is Iowa's most famous artist and one of the most celebrated American artists of the twentieth century.

My friend and fellow art student (at Grinnell College and University of Iowa) Barbara Siebenschuh recently went with friends from Iowa City for a day at the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art.  I think you will enjoy reading Barbara’s report. Note: The Ladiez of Leisure is a group of retired women in Iowa City who get out periodically to visit museums and other places of interest in the area. Their tour of the CRMA was led by the husband of one of Barbara’s and my college classmates, Sharon Sandford.

In early May, the remaining LOLs, Ladiez of Leisure, went to the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art for a tour given by docent Floyd Sandford. It was fun, and the event was one of the last we will be able to have with Daphne who will be moving to New Hampshire. We saw an exhibit of French paper art: i.e. prints, drawings, etc. by some really major artists. And we saw the Roman Sculptures and coins. There were other exhibits of photos, etc. There is a permanent showing of Grant wood art, including jewelry, wrought iron work, paintings and an unusual chandelier made of iron painted green and looking like corn and corn stalks. But the lovely wooden bench he made was missing at this point.

My Brother Malcolm by Conger Metcalf

We also saw art by Conger Metcalf. Born in Cedar Rapids, Conger Metcalf began his art studies at the Stone City Art Colony, after which he enrolled at Coe College and studied under Marvin Cone. During his service in World War II and on subsequent trips afterward, Metcalf studied the European masters, who were very influential on his work.



The Lasansky room had recently had a change over of his works. I was glad. Many I had never seen. The Cedar Rapids Museum of Art was given a whole ton of Lasansky works. There is a permanent room at CRMA and his art works are rotated and will be shown there forever, is my understanding. [Mauricio Lasansky taught printmaking for many years at the University of Iowa. Both Barbara and I studied with him when we were graduate students.] We saw his print of Leo Tolstoy, depicted with bushy white hair. We also saw his print of Darwin, another one in his famous people series.

We all were too tired to see the new Cedar Rapids Library across the square. I have seen it. We will hold it for another day. Instead of eating at Rileys near downtown Cedar Rapids as planned, we turned off instead into a small town near the airport, Swisher. There we had a wonderful lunch with their famed coffee and treats. It is a good thing we got there before a huge crowd of ladies, some club or something. We were too late for breakfast but instead enjoyed lunch.

We went home along a route that allowed us to visit the town of Mount.Vernon. There is a neat consignment Antiques Shop there and we spent some time searching treasures. The landscape was green, but the whole day was overcast, some light rain and cold enough for jackets. By the time we came to Iowa City, we all decided we would eat again and take home leftovers for the next day. This we did across from A.C.T. at "Bob's Your Uncle". It was a fun day, a long time in the planning, as our lives have gotten a bit complicated lately.

LONDON IN WINTER: Museums and More, Part 1

British Museum of Natural History, London

Why go to London in January, when it is cold, wet, and dark?  As long as you dress warmly, carry an umbrella, and plan mostly inside activities, it is a terrific time to see this great city when it isn’t jam packed with summer tourists--and there are more exhibits, plays and concerts than you could possibly see in one visit.  We were in London for a week in mid-January, opting to stay in Kensington because of its central location.  Here are some highlights from my diary:

The Cranley Hotel, Kensington, London

Saturday-- We arrived at our hotel, the Cranley, at about 8:30 pm, after walking through light snow from the Gloucester Road tube station. Checked in.  Very genteel--living room with fire and drinks available.  The desk person made a reservation for us for 9:30 at the Bumpkin, a pub about five minutes down the Old Brompton Road.  The dinner was surprisingly good.  Fresh organic food.  Art had a chicken pie and I had squash with brown rice risotto.  We also ordered an onion tart as an appetizer–an artfully presented slab of pastry, red onions, topped with cheese.  We had no room for the sticky toffee pudding on the menu.  Maybe we’ll go back. (We did.)

Statue of Charles Darwin, Museum of Natural History

Sunday– We walked to the Natural History Museum, on Cromley Road, about 10 minutes away and got tickets for the wildlife photography show–100 stunning prize winning nature photos, including a number of penguins photographed underwater by Flip Nicklin (seen in the recent National Geographic.)  On the way to the show we passed the ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs found by Mary Anning. [See my post for Feb 11.] After lunch in the museum cafeteria we went to see the statue of Darwin, who presides over the main hall.  At the other end is a giant sequoia slice, brought from CA in the late 1800's, and nearly 2000 years old. That evening we went to a piano concert at Wigmore Hall.

Easter Island Moai

Monday–Took the tube to Kings Cross, walked to a pub called The Driver to see the  Patrick Blanc vertical gardens, then stopped for a Cornish pasty and sausage roll at the station for a late lunch before going to the British Museum.  The entrance hall there is huge, and filled mainly with an enormous gift shop.  First we went to see the Easter Island moai, (made of basalt so the details of the carvings on the back were especially fine).  We then went upstairs to view the mummies, and spent most of our time in just two rooms–all the Egyptian rooms extend across the width of the museum.  Our last stop was to see the Elgin Marbles on the main level.

(Continued next week.)