MUSCATINE, Iowa – The Muscatine Art Center is thrilled to welcome back acclaimed art scholar Carol Ehlers on Thursday, September 25, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. for her presentation, “Marvin Cone and Grant Wood: Their Life, Artworks, and Friendship.”
This lecture is part of a series of events celebrating the Center’s new exhibition, “Midwest Icons: Grant Wood, John Steuart Curry, and Thomas Hart Benton,” currently on view in the Stanley Gallery. Attendees to the program will have the opportunity to explore the exhibition before or after the lecture.
Grant Wood and Marvin Cone shared a lifelong friendship that began in high school in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and continued through their careers as artists and educators. Together, they traveled to Paris to study art, collaborated on numerous projects, and co-founded the legendary Stone City Art Colony in Jones County, Iowa, in 1932.
Though their careers eventually diverged, both played pivotal roles in the Regionalist movement. Ehlers’ presentation will delve into the rich friendship of these two iconic artists and provide insight into their lives through their remarkable bodies of work. Highlights will include select pieces from the Muscatine Art Center’s permanent collection.
Admission to the lecture is free, and no registration is required.
In addition to her lectures, Carol Ehlers volunteers at the Figge Art Museum in Davenport, Iowa, and the Art Institute of Chicago. She is an expert in the Regionalist movement and plans to return in February 2026 for a second presentation coinciding with the closing of the “Midwest Icons” exhibition.
The Muscatine Art Center is open Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; and Saturdays and Sundays, 1 to 5 p.m. The Center is located at 1314 Mulberry Avenue, Muscatine, Iowa. For up-to-date details, call 563-263-8282 or visit www.muscatineartcenter.org.
Grant Wood - "Doors in Amana" 1930 (oil on board)
Marvin Cone - "Study in Blue" 1961 (oil on panel)