PRESS RELEASE
FOR RELEASE THURSDAY, MAY 9, 2019 

THE NEXT MAJOR EXHIBITION SUPPORTED BY THE MAJOR EXHIBITIONS ENDOWMENT AT THE FIGGE WILL BE…

Davenport, Iowa (May 9, 2019) –The next major exhibition at the Figge, made possible by the Major Exhibitions Endowment, is For America: Paintings from the National Academy of Design. The exhibition will be on view February 20–May 16, 2021.

Organized by the American Federation of Arts and the National Academy of Design, For America features over 90 works made between 1810-2010 by some of the greatest American artists and drawn from the collections of the National Academy of Design in New York.

From its founding in 1825 to the present, the National Academy has required all Academicians elected to donate a representative work to the Academy’s collection, and from 1839 to 1994, the Academy also required Associates to present a portrait of themselves, whether painted by their own hand or that of a fellow artist. This has resulted in a collection of over 8,000 works by American masters such as Winslow Homer, William Merritt Chase, John Singer Sargent, Andrew Wyeth and many others.

Exhibition co-curator Jeremiah William McCarthy, Associate Curator for the American Federation of Arts says: “Essentially, this exhibition presents the way artists see the world alongside the way they see themselves inhabiting that world. It’s an unprecedented look at the history of American painting written by its makers.”

The exhibition will present many opportunities for community collaborations with other cultural organizations for musical, literary and historical programs, and will provide a new perspective on the American works in the City of Davenport and Figge collections.

For America: Paintings from the National Academy of Design will tour to eight venues across the United States including the Figge, bringing important paintings to audiences across the country while also enriching the dialogue of scholars, students and artists of all ages with the firsthand experience of American masterpieces.

“The Figge is so fortunate to be able to bring an exhibition of this caliber to the Quad Cities and we are forever grateful to the 43 individuals, families, businesses and foundations who contributed to the Major Exhibitions Endowment that will allow the museum to bring this type of art to the museum every two years,” said Executive Director Tim Schiffer.

This will be the second exhibition made possible by the Major Exhibitions Endowment at the Figge. The first was French Moderns: Monet to Matisse, 1850-1950 which was at the Figge from October 6, 2018­January 6, 2019.

About the Figge Art Museum:
The Figge Art Museum is located on the Mississippi River in downtown Davenport at 225 West Second Street. Hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. Thursdays the museum is open until 9 p.m. Admission to the museum and tour is normally $10 for adults, $6 for seniors and students with ID and $4 children ages 4-12, but will be FREE from May 11–May 19, 2019. Admission is free to Figge members and institutional members, and always free to all on Thursday evenings from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. The Figge Café is open 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Tuesday-Friday. To contact the museum, please call 563.326.7804, or visit www.figgeartmuseum.org.

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