Rediscovering Legacies

Men do not really live by stocks and bonds, bank credits, cattle, hogs, corn, electricity – but by abstract ideals such as courage, honesty, hope, perseverance, [and] love. When we can actually see these ideals they become very real to us. Art takes [this] abstraction and makes it visual. We believe in something we can see. People who help us to believe are very valuable in a nation or a community. – Marvin Cone 

The 1920s and 1930s were a time of profound transition and uncertainty. People looked to the past with the earnest hope of understanding and rationalizing the present. A revival of Americanism swept the nation, and critics began to interpret American art in geographic terms. A key result of these visual metaphors was the new importance that the landscape assumed in American cultural thought. 

Marvin Cone (1903–1966) was a distinguished American artist and art educator known for his paintings of powerful rural landscapes of the Iowa countryside and later abstract compositions. Born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Cone graduated from Coe College in 1914 and continued his artistic studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Cone's education was briefly interrupted by World War I when he served as an interpreter in France and studied at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Montpellier in 1919. Upon returning to Cedar Rapids in 1919, Cone began teaching at Coe College, where he would become a pivotal figure in the development of the college’s art department. Over his 40-year tenure, he taught art and established himself as a significant contributor to the Regionalist tradition in American art. Cone's career included a notable friendship and collaboration with Grant Wood; the two traveled to France in 1920 to study art, and they later co-founded the Stone City Art Colony. Cone’s interest in nature and Regionalist values continued through the 1930s, seeing his landscapes as an optimistic symbol of a revitalized nation. He continued to exhibit alongside Grant Wood, in their hometown of Cedar Rapids to the Iowa Art Salon at the Iowa State Fair, including his 1935 painting, River Bend.  

Cone maintained an active role in regional and national exhibitions and was a beloved member of the local art community. His painting River Bend was purchased for $350 with contributions from students and faculty of the Cedar Rapids Public Schools as a memorial to a Miss Abbie Abbott. For many years it has hung in Franklin High School, now Middle School (1987), in Cedar Rapids. Grant Wood and Marvin Cone had deep connections to their hometown of Cedar Rapids. Remarkably, some of those connections are on display on the walls of Franklin Middle School, which boasts an expansive art collection enjoyed by students. Cone’s contributions to both art and education are celebrated for their enduring influence and commitment to the Regionalist movement. 

Cone, Marvin, Lecture, March 1937. 

Czestochowski, Joseph S. Marvin Cone: Art As Self-Portrait. Cedar Rapids Art Association, 1991.  

Juhl, Paul C. Grant Wood and the Iowa State Fair. Brushy Creek Publishing, 2020.  

Zenobia Brumbaugh Ness (1876-1943), a member of the Applied Art Department in the Home Economics Division of Iowa State College, was a prominent art activist in Iowa in the 1920s and 1930s. A friend of Grant Wood’s, she was among the Iowa State faculty who supported President Raymond M. Hughes’ goals for art on campus. Outside of her work at Iowa State, Zenobia Ness was chairman of the Art Division for Iowa Federation of Women’s Clubs and the General Federation of Women’s Clubs. She also co-wrote the seminal publication Iowa Artists of the First Hundred Years with Louise Orwig in 1939.

Zenobia Ness served as the superintendent for the Iowa Art Salon at the Iowa State Fair from 1927 to 1939, which allowed her to make a considerable impact on the state of Iowa’s arts, garnering national attention when she invited René d’Harnoncourt to be a guest judge for the Iowa Art Salon in 1933. 

Each year after the Iowa Art Salon, Ness, along with President Raymond M. Hughes (1873-1958) and the Director of the Memorial Union, hosted the Annual Iowa Artist’s Dinner in the Great Hall at the Memorial Union. This event celebrated the Art Salon winners, engaged alumni, and brought the fine arts to Iowa State’s campus. By strategically showcasing art from the Iowa Art Salon at Iowa State’s Memorial Union, Zenobia further facilitated the growing art collection of Iowa State.  

Notably, the Artist’s Dinner of 1934 was the backdrop for the unveiling of Grant Wood’s murals “When Tillage Begins, Other Arts Will Follow.” These murals were a joint commission by the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP) and Iowa State College. 

As University Museums took on the task of expanding the Art on Campus Collection, they inherited numerous portraits that had been commissioned by the early Campus Art Committee begun by President Raymond M. Hughes. Starting again in the 1990s, under the guidance of University Museums, Iowa State began actively commissioning formal portraits of distinguished individuals to celebrate and honor the university's cultural legacy. Continuing a 100-year tradition of campus portraits at Iowa State University, artist Rose Frantzen was commissioned in 2016 to create a series of portraits celebrating influential alumni, faculty, staff, students, and friends. "Faces of Iowa State" is an ongoing series honoring the role of portraiture in capturing the impact of these individuals, highlighting those who are agents of change within the university community. This collection tells the stories of a democratic education, showcasing how the visions, dreams, and actions of individuals contribute to shaping Iowa State's collective identity and culture.

To learn more about Zenobia Ness, please see the essay “Zenobia Bumbaugh Ness: Life and Legacy” by Monet Butler, Lynette Pohlman Fellow

In 1934, Grant Wood was appointed as the Director of the New Deal Public Works of Art Project (PWAP) for Iowa, later called the Civil Works Administration. Wood was immediately tasked asked by Iowa State President Raymond M. Hughes to plan murals for the library.  

Wood welcomed the opportunity to employ Iowa artists and made his selection, in part, from those who had exhibited at the Iowa State Fair. Headquartered at the University of Iowa, Wood oversaw artists and art students in his PWAP studio producing murals for the library at Iowa State College (now Iowa State University). During this time, he became a key figure in both universities' cultural communities.   

The design of this lithograph, March, relates to Wood’s 1935 painting titled Death on the Ridge Road (Williams College Museum of Art), which was inspired by a near-fatal auto accident involving Wood’s hometown friend Jay Sigmund (1885–1937), a poet who encouraged Wood to find inspiration for his art in Iowa. An advocate of the growing regionalist movement, Wood credited the rise to “a growing consciousness of the art [in the] rural districts of America and the system of PWA artwork.”  

Wood, Grant. Revolt Against the City. Clio Press, 1935. 

"Iowa Artists of The First Hundred Years," published in 1939 by Zenobia Ness and Louise Orwig, presents a comprehensive collection of biographies of artists who shaped Iowa’s artistic landscape from statehood in 1846 to the late 1930s. With a foreword written by the great Iowa Regionalist Grant Wood, this meticulously researched volume captures the diverse backgrounds, styles, and contributions of these artists, offering insights into their individual journeys and the broader cultural movements of their time. By weaving together personal narratives with contextual history, Ness and Orwig create a rich portrait of Iowa’s artistic heritage. This book not only serves as an essential reference for art enthusiasts and historians but also celebrates the profound impact of Iowa’s artists on the national art scene.

In the Foreword of the book, Grant Wood writes:

Iowa Artists of the First Hundred Years is an authoritative work, carefully and ably prepared. It is, on the part of the authors [Ness and Orwig] a labor of love and necessity. It fills a definite and long-felt need. I believe, therefore, I am speaking for everyone who has real interest in the art of the state when I express my profound appreciation to Miss Orwig and Mrs. Ness.

Wood, Grant. “Foreword.” Iowa Artists of the First Hundred Years, Wallace-Homestead Company, Des Moines, IA, 1939.

Louise Orwig (1874-1966) was born in Mifflinburg, Pennsylvania, and later moved to Des Moines, Iowa, with her parents. She received formal art training at the Cumming School of Art in Des Moines and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. An accomplished painter and illustrator, Orwig exhibited her work nationally and received several awards. She co-founded the Iowa Artists Club and was an active member of the Des Moines Fine Arts Association. In addition to co-authoring Iowa Artists of the First Hundred Years with Zenobia Ness, she significantly influenced Iowa's cultural landscape as the art librarian for the Des Moines Public Library. In this position, she advocated for the creation and installation of murals in the library's central room, funded by Federal New Deal programs. Of Orwig, Grant Wood wrote:

Miss Orwig, herself an artist, has long furthered Iowa art, not only in her official capacity as an art librarian of the Des Moines Public Library, but by her salutary and unselfish participation in various art movements in the state. I doubt if there is any Iowa artist or art lover who is not in some way indebted to her, directly or indirectly.

Grant Wood soon assigned his PWAP studio to develop studies for four lunettes in the Des Moines library. However, the paintings were in their final stages when PWAP funding ended, and they were never completed. In 1941, the Des Moines Library did receive a mural titled The Social History of Des Moines by Howard Johnson, funded by the Federal Art Project of the Works Progress Administration (WPA).

DeLong, Lea Rosson. Artists in Iowa: The First Century. University Museums, Iowa State University, 2019.

Wood, Grant. “Foreword.” Iowa Artists of the First Hundred Years, Wallace-Homestead Company, Des Moines, IA, 1939.

Joanne Hansen’s long career in art education began with classes at the New York School of Fine and Applied Arts and the Art Students’ League of New York. She received a diploma in applied art from Pratt Institute and a certificate in art drawing from Iowa State Teacher’s College where she completed her bachelor’s in education. At the invitation of Dean Catherine McKay, Hansen came to Iowa State to work as a summer instructor, and shortly after in 1918, she joined the department as a full-time instructor. In 1920, she became the chair of the Applied Arts Program, a division of home economics, serving as the director until 1941. On campus, Hansen was an active member of President Raymond M. Hughes’ College Art Committee, expanding the art collection of Iowa State with original art acquisitions, fine art prints, and other works of art. She also collected on behalf of the Applied Art Department to expand the teaching collections. Hansen retired as a full professor and chair in 1941 but remained with the Applied Arts department as a Professor of Art Appreciation until 1950.  

In addition to her administrative duties, Hansen continued working as a professional artist, exhibiting nationally and internationally, with work exhibited in shows by the Iowa Federation of Women’s Clubs (1931) and the Iowa State Fair’s Art Salon (1935-1936). Additionally, she attended Grant Wood’s Stone City Art Colony (1932-1933). In 1949, Hansen was selected to be Iowa State University’s artist-in-residence. 

Raine, K. (2021). Hansen, Joanna “Joanne” M. Iowa State University Biographical Dictionary.  

Joanne M. Hansen, head of the Applied Art Department at Iowa State College, was also an ally of President Raymond M. Hughes in bringing art to Iowa State. After Grant Wood’s murals were installed in the library in 1934, Hansen wrote an article that introduced them to the campus community. 

Joanna Hansen served as the chair of the Applied Arts Program from 1920-1941. During 1927-1928, Hansen became one of the first American educators to offer instruction by radio through a program called “The Homemaker’s Half Hour.” The course sponsored and broadcast by WOI-Radio, Ames was dedicated to art appreciation and featured analysis of classic paintings. 

Carroll, Gaynold (1939) "Home Economics Women Take the Air," The Iowa Homemaker: Vol. 19 : No. 2 , Article 4.