Sean O'Harrow, Figge Art Museum

The Davenport Municipal Art Gallery opened in 1925, through a gift of 350 European and Mexican Colonial paintings, creating the first municipal art gallery in the State of Iowa. Today, the collections have grown over ten-fold and include more than 3,500 paintings, sculptures, and works on paper from the 16th century to the present.

In 1963, the museum changed its name to the Davenport Museum of Art and moved to a new facility. In 2003, the museum launched its next phase of growth: relocation to the heart of downtown Davenport in an 114,000 sq. ft. facility overlooking the Mississippi designed by London architect David Chipperfield. In recognition of the $13.25 million lead gift to the new building project from the V. O. and Elizabeth Kahl Figge Foundation the museum was renamed the Figge Art Museum.

The Figge Art Museum is the leading regional art museum of eastern Iowa and western Illinois. It provides:

• a broad and diverse public with outstanding art exhibitions, acquisitions, and education programs;
• collaboration with local and national organizations to reflect the aesthetic needs and interests of the community and to attract community, cultural, and financial support;
• a focus on the assets of the Figge, building on the strengths of the collections, continuing its professional dedication to scholarship;
• a community forum and tourist destination;
• a welcoming and intellectually stimulating atmosphere conducive to aesthetic enjoyment, contemplation, learning, and inspiration.