About the Christian Petersen Art Museum

The Christian Petersen Art Museum is named for the nation’s first permanent campus artist-in-residence, Christian Petersen, who sculpted and taught at Iowa State from 1934 through 1955.  Petersen is considered the founding artist of the Art on Campus Collection. 

As part of University Museums, the Christian Petersen Art Museum at Morrill Hall is the home of the Christian Petersen Art Collection, the Art on Campus Program, the University Museums’ Visual Literacy and Learning Program, and Contemporary Changing Art Exhibitions Program. 

Located within the Christian Petersen Art Museum are the Lyle and Nancy Campbell Art Gallery, the Roy and Bobbi Reiman Public Art Studio Gallery, the Margaret Davidson Center for the Study of the Art on Campus Collection, the Edith D. and Torsten E. Lagerstrom Loaned Collections Center, and the Neva M. Petersen Visual Learning Gallery. University Museums shares the James R. and Barbara R. Palmer Small Objects Classroom in Morrill Hall.

For additional information on Christian Petersen, click here.

Hours

Monday - Friday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
(The Christian Petersen Art Museum will not be open on University Holidays, weekends or during all University breaks.)
Contact

515.294.9500 or museums@iastate.edu

Links

Collections
 The University Museums’ permanent Christian Petersen Art Collection is the most extensive known repository of his works of art.  University Museums’ permanent Art on Campus Collection is the largest collection of public works of art at any college or university in the nation.  After renovation, Morrill Hall will become home to the Christian Petersen Art Museum, housing Petersen's works of art and Art on Campus models, maquettes, sketches and other preparatory designs.  Over 3,000 objects ranging in size from large sculptures to sketches on paper will be exhibited and stored in the new museum.


Current & Upcoming Exhibitions
 

HOT and COOL: Contemporary Studio Glass Sculpture from the Permanent Collection
Presented in 1017 Morrill August 24 through December 11, 2009

Studio glass sculpture emerged in the 1960s with the experimentation in hot glass by artistic pioneers Harvey Littleton and Dominic Labino. In 1962, they lead the Toledo Museum of Art glassblowing workshops. Through these workshops, Littleton was introduced to Labino’s creative solution of mixing the raw batches of glass using fiberglass marbles which he formulated to melt at lower temperatures. This revolutionary technique allowed for more fluidity and flexibility in the creation of glass sculpture. The University Museums permanent collection of glass consists of ancient vessels, early European and American glass, as well as a growing contemporary studio glass collection

All the Evils...Christian Petersen and the Art of War
 Presented in the Reiman Gallery through Februrary 26, 2010.

This exhibition includes fifty sculptures and drawings, and is curated from the collections of the Christian Petersen Art Collection, University Museums; Special Collections, Iowa State University Library; and, other public and private collections. Most of Petersen’s sculptures from early in his career (pre-1930) are permanently installed in east coast cities, and are represented through photographs. A substantial publication by the same name accompanies the exhibition. This exhibition is organized by the University Museums, guest curated by Dr. Lea Rosson DeLong and supported by Joanne and Charles Frederiksen, Helen Fleming Reinhardt, the University Museums Membership.

Polyphonic Abstraction: Paintings and Maquettes by Bill Barrett
 Presented in 1017 Morrill Hall through August 6, 2010.

Known primarily for his sculptures of fabricated aluminum, bronze or steel Barrett is also an accomplished painter.  This exhibition will juxtapose his expressive canvases with his sculptural maquettes.  With lyrical calligraphic stokes, Barrett’s art explores the interplay between positive and negative space with grace, elegance and exquisite balance. Fluidity, celebration, effortlessness are ideas that are delicately balanced with form, line, color and content while invoking a minimal aesthetic with humanity.

This exhibition is organized by the University Museums with major funding from Arthur Klein and support from the University Museums Membership.

 

Past Exhibitions

BodyScapes & CounterPoints: Prints of Beej Nierengarten-Smith
January 12-May 12, 2009 at the Christian Petersen Art Museum, 1017 Morrill Hall

The prints of Beej Nierengarten-Smith challenge us to see the world differently. With a personal iconography that is intimately connected to her travels, her passions, her cultural observations and social convictions, Beej creates one-of-a-kind images by combining traditional printing techniques with modern technology.

The exhibition is organized by the University Museums, and funding has been generously provided by Martha LeBuhn Allen and the University Museums Membership. 56 page full color exhibition publication will be for sale at the Brunnier Art Museum Store and in the exhibition. The artist will be in a week long residency from April 13 to the 17, 2009 in 0003 Morrill Hall.

Morrill Act of July 2, 1862
Land Grant Act and the People's College
March 22 - April 27, 2008 
at the Christian Petersen Art Museum, 1017 Morrill Hall (See special open hours above.)

Click here for the exhibition website!

The University Museums, Iowa State University will present the original Morrill Act of July 2, 1862 signed by President Abraham Lincoln on exhibition, from March 22- April 27, 2008 at the new Christian Petersen Art Museum located in the restored and renovated historic Morrill Hall on the central campus of Iowa State University , Ames , Iowa . This exhibition is a part of the Christian Petersen Art Museum ’s inaugural year schedule, also coinciding with Iowa State University ’s Sesquicentennial Celebrations. The Act is graciously loaned by the National Archives and Records Administration in Washington D.C.


Albert Paley I Portals & Gates
August 20, 2007 - March 7, 2008
at the Christian Petersen Art Museum in Morrill Hall
The Lyle and Nancy Campbell Art Gallery
Click here for more information.

Visual Literacy and Learning
The establishment of the Christian Petersen Art Museum at Morrill Hall and its programs will place Petersen and his legacy of the Art on Campus Collection in the context of American Art History.  These collections artistically distinguish Iowa State University. As the first permanent campus artist-in-residence, Petersen created a tradition of campus public art.  As an ISU Presidential priority project, CPAM at Morrill Hall will be the nation’s first campus museum dedicated to campus public art and visual learning and literacy. 

Research indicates 80% of the information that sighted individuals learn is processed through visual images.  Visual learning skills, however, are not routinely taught in our college system as are mathematic, scientific and English literacy.  Visual learning instruction is directly supported by the idea that nothing can replicate the personal firsthand encounter with an object or work of art when used to tell the story of its makers, their inspirations, technologies, and socioeconomic circumstances.  By developing visual learning skills, each student can become a better communicator, critical thinker, and improve in all academic areas he or she studies.  This innovative way of learning through objects can open new doors for ISU students that led to greater opportunities in their academic careers.  By offering integrated curricula in visual learning, the University Museums and the CPAM can assist ISU students to become better learners and faculty members to become better instructors. 

An object-learning classroom will be adjacent to the exhibition galleries, and this space can become a visual literacy learning lab with mini-exhibitions curated by students and faculty.  These innovative classrooms and exhibition spaces will be primary sites for faculty/student interaction with, and use of, University Museums Art Collection.  Direct hands-on access to collection objects will be provided, without sacrificing prudent security and preservation measures.  Students and faculty may choose to study a selection of objects for their material properties, manufacture, and scientific principles, while another class may focus on aesthetic and cultural considerations of the same objects. Classes of different disciplines, such as mechanical engineering and design, botany and landscape architecture, or history and agriculture may choose to collaborate in this educational process. Physical and virtual access to collections, the collections databases, and other related resources would be available.

Nothing motivates students to higher performances more than a sense that what they are studying is of real relevance and importance to themselves, their lives and personal aspirations.  The art and objects collected by museums captures the essence of world cultures available to the public through exhibitions and other programming.  A vision for new exhibition galleries includes keys to many such doors where students can see themselves and others reflected in the material culture collected by University Museums. The Christian Petersen Art Museum at Morrill Hall supports the University Museums and the University’s mission and strategic plan. In addition the Christian Petersen Art Museum at Morrill Hall will be intellectually and physically accessible-- encouraging participation of the widest possible audience consistent within the mission and provided resources.

To arrange a tour of the Brunnier Art Museum, Christian Petersen Art Museum, Farm House Museum, or Art on Campus Collection, please  fill out our the University Museums online Tour Request Form and email to ajhall@iastate.edu.

 

 

  


University Museums
290 Scheman Bldg,
Ames, Iowa, 50011 515.294.3342