Portrait of Patronage

Considered the father of Iowa State's public art program, President Raymond M. Hughes founded the first college art committee at Iowa State in 1928, tasking the members with purchasing prints and paintings and curating exhibitions.   

In the 1930s, President Hughes realized the unique opportunity presented by the federally funded work programs for unemployed artists and began commissioning original works of art by Grant Wood and Christian Petersen for Iowa State at the height of the Great Depression. Grant Wood, the appointed Director of the Iowa Public Works of Art Project (PWAP), later called the Civil Works Administration, was asked by President Hughes to plan murals for the library. As a result of President Hughes's efforts, Iowa State has the two largest murals designed by Grant Wood in its collection and claims Christian Petersen, who came to Iowa State in 1934 as the first sculptor-in-residence at any college or university. The tradition of commissioning official presidential and faculty portraits began with President Hughes and was continued by President Charles E. Friley.  

When President Raymond M. Hughes (1873–1958) arrived in 1927, he planned commemorations and celebrations of Iowa State’s accomplishments for its 75th Jubilee Year, 1933. The Jubilee commemorations included hosting dinners for renowned alumni, speeches by notable faculty and alumni, and the commissioning of formal fine art portraits of Iowa State’s most distinguished people. In an effort to recognize historically significant individuals such as the first presidents of the college, including Adonijah Welch and William Beardshear, artists would work from historic photographs. The resulting portraits started a longstanding tradition of highlighting important and impactful Iowa State individuals. The College’s historic divisions of Engineering, Agriculture and Home Economics, as well as departments such as Animal Science, Dairy Industry and Agronomy continued to commission portraits of their chairs, deans and noted faculty.

William M. Beardshear (1850-1902) was president at Iowa State College from 1891-1902. During his tenure, Beardshear developed new agricultural programs and was instrumental in hiring influential faculty members such Anson Marston. He also expanded the university administration, and the following buildings were added to the campus: Morrill Hall (1891); the Campanile (1899); Old Botany (now Catt Hall) (1892); and Margaret Hall (1895).

Pohlman, Lynette L. A Century of Campus Portraiture. University Museums, Iowa State University, 2021.

Anson Marston (1904-1937) joined the Iowa State faculty in the Iowa Agricultural College as Professor and Head of the Department of Civil Engineering (1892-1917) and became Iowa State’s first Dean of the Division of Engineering (1904-1932). While one of his greatest legacies was training generations of civil engineers at Iowa State, including Henry Brunnier, he also worked on several notable campus building projects, including the carillon, Marston Hall, Curtiss Hall, and the campus water tower.    

Marston was also an art patron and major advocate for art on campus. As the enrollment of engineering and agriculture students rapidly grew, President Raymond M. Hughes saw a deficiency in course offerings over cultural subjects. In a letter to the Carnegie Corporation (now Carnegie Foundation) in 1934, Hughes announced the formation of the College Art Appreciation Committee. According to Hughes, this committee consisted of:   

[...] staff members from the departments of architectural engineering, landscape architecture, and applied art under the chairmanship of dean of the Division of Engineering (Marston). I (Hughes) have requested them to prepare a course of lectures on the appreciation of art [...] for engineers. Dean Marston has taken a very great interest in this matter.  

From this, Iowa State launched the required course “Art for Engineers” supported by the Carnegie Foundation. Among the committee members and lecturers were Zenobia Ness, Joanne Hansen, and Christian Petersen.  

As an art patron, Marston attended the annual Artists’ Dinners and accompanying art exhibition at the Memorial Union, hosted by Zenobia Ness and President Hughes. There, Marston purchased the artwork Village Fountain, Haiti by Lowell Houser, which was later gifted to Iowa State.  

Letter to Robert Lester, Carnegie Corporation from Raymond Hughes, June 1, 1934. 

The New Deal art program, the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP), provided relief for unemployed artists during the Great Depression. For Petersen, his career as a sculptor-in-residence for Iowa State was launched when he joined Grant Wood's Iowa PWAP in January of 1934.

The catalyst of the portrait tradition at Iowa State lies in a relationship between then president, Raymond M. Hughes, and Iowa State College professor and alumni Edward N. Wentworth ([BS 1907, MS 1909 Animal Science] 1887-1957). During the celebratory era of the 75th anniversary of the college, despite being in the depths of the Great Depression, Hughes founded and chaired the College Art Committee. The College Art Committee was charged with, among other aesthetic pursuits, the commemoration, validation and celebration of Iowa State’s accomplishments. When the College Art Committee was founded, Wentworth was serving as Vice President of Armour and Company’s Saddle and Sirloin Club and had spent 35 years as the director of the Livestock Bureau in Chicago.

Wentworth, a notable alumnus of Iowa State, is recognized in American art for his contributions to the Saddle and Sirloin Club Portrait Collection, celebrating America’s agricultural and equestrian heritage through portraits of influential figures in the livestock industry. Following the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, the city attracted many emigrating European artists. The Saddle and Sirloin Club frequently commissioned portraits of individuals who advanced the livestock industry, which allowed Wentworth to become acquainted with prominent regional and national portrait artists like Othmar Hoffler (1893–1954) and Henry Rossman (1886–1950). Leveraging his connections with these artists, Wentworth linked them to the Iowa State College Alumni Association Portrait Committee, established in the early 1930s to create portraits of distinguished faculty, presidents, accomplished division heads, and celebrated alumni.

Pohlman, Lynette L. A Century of Campus Portraiture. University Museums, Iowa State University, 2021.