Museum of Art Cedar Rapids

The Cedar Rapids Museum of Art is a privately owned museum located in downtown Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States. Established in 1905, it stands as a significant cultural institution in the American Midwest, distinguished by its world-leading holdings of works by Iowa-born artists, particularly Grant Wood, Marvin Cone, and Bertha Jaques. The museum's mission is to excite, engage, and educate its community and visitors through its collection, exhibitions, and programs.

The museum was founded in 1905 and has operated continuously for more than a century. In 1985, it acquired the old Cedar Rapids Public Library building after the library relocated to new premises. Four years later, in 1989, the museum expanded with a new building designed by post-modern architect Charles Moore, constructed adjoining the former library. This dual-building complex remains its home today. In 2002, the museum received a major addition to its cultural holdings when it was given the building that houses Grant Wood's original studio, located three blocks from the museum at the fictitious address of 5 Turner Alley. The museum faced a significant challenge in June 2008 when downtown Cedar Rapids experienced the worst flood in the city's recorded history. The lower storage areas and basements were severely damaged, threatening exhibition spaces. The institution had installed a $200,000 art storage system in its basement only six months prior to the flood. Staff moved the collection to higher levels, and no artwork is known to have been damaged.

The museum's collection is anchored in the work of prominent Iowa artists and spans approximately 63,000 square feet (5,900 square meters). Its holdings are distinguished by several concentrated areas of strength. The museum maintains the world's largest collection of works by Grant Wood, Marvin Cone, and Bertha Jaques. It also holds significant pieces by Mauricio Lasansky, Malvina Hoffman, Ann Royer, and Carl Van Vechten, among others. The collection encompasses paintings, works on paper, and a notable group of ancient Roman portrait busts. The museum presents temporary exhibitions of contemporary art alongside its permanent holdings. A unique component of its programming is the Grant Wood Studio, which the museum opened to public guided tours on Saturdays and Sundays. Wood designed and constructed this loft studio himself, living and working there from 1924 to 1935.

The Grant Wood collection includes the paintings Woman with Plants and Young Corn. Wood's studio at 5 Turner Alley, which the museum acquired in 2002, is historically significant as the place where he painted American Gothic in 1930, though that painting now belongs to the Art Institute of Chicago. The Marvin Cone collection features many of his best-known landscapes and abstracts; Cone was a collaborator and friend of Grant Wood. The museum also holds the Riley Collection of ancient Roman portrait busts. Works by Mauricio Lasansky, Malvina Hoffman, Ann Royer, and Carl Van Vechten represent additional significant holdings.

The museum occupies a dual-building complex in downtown Cedar Rapids. The older portion consists of the former Cedar Rapids Public Library building, which the museum acquired in 1985. The current main building, designed by post-modern architect Charles Moore, was built adjoining this structure in 1989. The complex provides approximately 63,000 square feet of space for exhibitions, storage, and programs. Three blocks away, the museum also maintains Grant Wood's studio at 5 Turner Alley as an ancillary site open for public tours.

The Cedar Rapids Museum of Art is located in downtown Cedar Rapids, Iowa. It is privately owned. The museum's official website is http://www.crma.org/. Visitors may access the Grant Wood Studio for guided tours on Saturdays and Sundays. The museum continues to fulfill its mission to excite, engage, and educate the community and visitors through exhibitions, programs, and its permanent collection.