The University of Iowa Stanley Museum of Art officially opened on Friday, Aug. 26, more than 14 years after the university’s previous art museum was rendered uninhabitable by the flood of 2008. The $50 million building has three floors, a light well in the center and two terraces. The first floor features the lobby and event space, the second floor is where the galleries are located, and the third floor is office and education suites.
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The museum celebrated the grand opening with its inaugural exhibition, “Homecoming,” which features three segments: “Generations,” about UI’s arts education and scholarship history; “Fragments of the Canon,” an introduction the museum’s internationally famous array of African art, featuring works collected by Meredith Saunders; and “History Is Always Now,” an exploration of movement and cultural exchange.
The museum is open to the public Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Thursday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from 12 to 4:30 p.m. Admission is free.
Patrons wait to enter the Stanley Museum of Art. – Adria Carpenter/Little Village
UI President Barbara Wilson, Center for Advancement President Lynette Marshall and Stanley Museum of Art Director Lauren Lessing cut the ribbon at the opening ceremony. – Adria Carpenter/Little Village
Lynette Marshall, president and chief executive officer of the University of Iowa Center for Advancement, speaks at the opening ceremony. – Adria Carpenter/Little Village
Patrons wait to enter the Stanley Museum of Art. – Adria Carpenter/Little Village
The About Face, African Masks in Iowa collection. – Adria Carpenter/Little Village
“Elegy to the Spanish Republic, No. 126” by Robert Motherwell. – Adria Carpenter/Little Village
“Plaid Sweater” by Grant Wood. – Adria Carpenter/Little Village
A museum volunteer walks through the gallery. — Adria Carpenter/Little Village
A ceramics display at the museum. – Adria Carpenter/Little Village
Resting on a bench in the museum. – Adria Carpenter/Little Village
A section of “Mural” by Jackson Pollock. — Adria Carpenter/Little Village
Stanley Museum patrons walk through the second floor galleries. — Adria Carpenter/Little Village
Museum goers peer through the center well and up towards the terrace. – Adria Carpenter/Little Village
Reflections in the well. – Adria Carpenter/Little Village
The center well, seen from the third floor terrace. – Adria Carpenter/Little Village
Attendees look over the edge of the east side terrace. – Adria Carpenter/Little Village
People pose in cutouts of Judy Chicago’s “Through the Flower.” – Adria Carpenter/Little Village
A local hammocks in Gibson Square in front of the Stanley Museum of Art in Iowa City. — Adria Carpenter/Little Village
A button making station in Gibson Square. – Adria Carpenter/Little Village
