AMES, IOWA – January 31, 2022 – Iowa State University student interns at the Farm House Museum, 601 Farm House Lane, Ames, Iowa, have rearranged furniture and installed decorative arts objects for the new exhibition Arts and Craftsman: Simplicity, Honesty, and Truth to Materials open through the end of October, 2022. The Farm House Museum is a National Historic Landmark and was the first building on the Iowa State campus. Today, it is a museum operated by student interns under the guidance of University Museums Curator Allison Sheridan.

“The Farm House Museum provides visitors to campus a look back in time reflecting the time between 1860 and 1910. This new exhibition focuses on the years when Charles Curtiss lived in the home form the turn of the century through the 1940s,” said Sheridan. “The exhibition also provides an opportunity to highlight objects in the permanent collection and several loans that speak to the Arts and Crafts Style and Movement in America.”

The Farm House Museum is open to the public Monday through Friday, noon to 4:00 p.m. Admission is free; there is a suggested donation of $8. Private tours of the Farm House Museum may be requested at the University Museums website museums.iastate.edu. Tours are free for Iowa State classes and affiliates, but there is a charge for private groups.

The Arts and Craftsman exhibition at the Farm House Museum showcases the Arts and Crafts Movement through a selection of furniture and decorative arts appropriate to the Dean of Agriculture Charles Curtiss years of residence (1897-1947). The exhibition includes examples of lighting, pottery, art, furniture, glass, metalwork and books that highlight the craftsmanship and dedication to simplicity and materials for which the movement is most celebrated.

Roycroft furniture is a highlight of Arts and Craftsman. Because Roycroft Industries did not produce the same volume or variety of furnishings as other contemporary manufacturers, examples of Roycroft antiques are rare today. One Roycroft furniture item is a magazine pedestal stand given to Dean Charles Curtiss by the class of 1901. It can be seen in the Farm House Museum library, which has been set up based on a photograph taken in 1907 when the space was used by Curtiss.

Roycroft Program Director Alan Nowicki will give a virtual program on Zoom Royal Craft: The History of the Roycroft through the Lens of Six Artworks on Thursday, February 10 at 5:30 p.m. This and all programs associated with the Farm House Museum is free and open to the public.

Women’s work during the movement is also highlighted. The enduring impact of the movement can be seen in the artistic works of women showcased throughout this exhibition including the highly collectable work of Rookwood Pottery founded by Maria Longworth Nichols; innovative glazes by Pewabic Pottery founder Mary Chase Perry; the pottery design and innovation of Mary Yancey and Ethel Bouffleur at Iowa State; the fine work of Newcomb Pottery decorators Anna Francis Connor Simpson and Maude Robinson; the imagination of Rookwood decorators Sarah Toohey, Elizabeth Barret, and Katherine Jones; the potting and glazing of Van Briggle designers Martha Patton and Anna Van Briggle; the boundary breaking work of Tiffany stained glass artisan Clara Driscoll; the socially sustainable production of the Saturday Evening Girls of Boston; and the thoughtful silver work of the Kalo Shop founded by Clara Barck Welles. Other highlights of the exhibition include Midwestern made furniture, Tiffany glass, Iowa College Pottery, and art pottery by Weller, Charles Bins, Fulper, Owens, Brush-McCoy and others. 

This exhibition is curated by Kylea Mosley and Madisyn Rostro, Farm House Museum interns, and is generously funded by Carole Pletcher. Loans courtesy of Laurie Olk, Lynette Pohlman, Allison Sheridan and Chris Conklin.

Educational programs and events are free and open to the public. Registration is not required. By registering, attendees receive email updates and reminders about the events. Programs are subject to change. For the latest information and to register, visit museums.iastate.edu and check the calendar. University Museums events are also updated on Facebook and the Iowa State University events calendar.

Royal Craft: The History of the Roycroft through the Lens of Six Artworks

with Alan Nowicki, Roycroft Campus Program Director

Thursday, February 10, 5:30-6:30 pm

Zoom (LINK)

Elbert Hubbard was a Gilded Age businessman who left his industrial life to create the Roycroft, one of the first Arts and Crafts communities in America. A brief history of the site will be told through historical photographs and the examination of six works of art housed on the Campus. The story behind each of these unique artifacts is the tale of the Roycroft itself; from the philosophy of Hubbard, the ideals of the movement, the artists who created these objects, and its widespread appeal at the beginning of the 20th century.

Gardens of the Arts and Crafts Movement

with Judith B. Tankard; Landscape Historian, Author, & Preservation Consultant

Sunday, March 6, 5:30-6:30 pm

Zoom (LINK)



The rich legacy of the Arts and Crafts Movement is most known for its influence on architecture and art; however, the movement also played an important role in the garden world by defining the garden as a harmonious component of the home. In Gardens of the Arts and Crafts Movement, Judith B. Tankard will survey the inspirations, characteristics, and development of garden design during the Arts and Crafts Movement. Tankard presents a selection of houses and gardens from the era, with an emphasis on the diversity of designers who helped forge a special approach to garden design.

Open House Weekend

Saturday & Sunday, April 2 & 3, 1:00-4:00 pm

Farm House Museum & Christian Petersen Art Museum



Having trouble getting to the museum during the week? Enjoy the Museums central campus locations and spring exhibitions during an open house weekend. At the Christian Petersen Art Museum see Julie W Chang: Vibrant Matter and All the Evils: Christian Petersen and the Art of War. At the Farm House Museum, the exhibition Arts & Craftsman: Simplicity, Honesty, and Truth to Materials will be open.

Reflections on Preservation from a Queer Public Historian

with Franklin Vagnone, President of Twisted Preservation Cultural Consulting

Thursday, April 14, 6:30-7:30 pm

Zoom (LINK)



Practicing both at the center of Preservation as well as in the margins, Vagnone will illustrate his experimental Public History work that often questions accepted professional best practices. Preservation, conservation, public history, sculpture, contemporary art happenings, and queer & marginal narratives all are a part of Twisted Preservation's Practice. In conjunction with the Farm House Museum, Iowa State’s National Historic Landmark.

Nestled in the center of Iowa State University, the Farm House Museum sits as a monument to early Iowa State history and culture. The first building on campus as well as a National Historic Landmark, the Farm House was built in 1860 and functioned as living quarters for various Iowa State deans, professors, farmhands and students. Undergoing a lengthy restoration from 1970-76, the Farm House evolved into a public museum. Now students, faculty and community members can enjoy the museum while remembering the significance that one small building had upon shaping a nationally recognized land-grant university. 

Museum Hours

Monday-Friday, noon-4:00 p.m.

Closed Saturday, Sunday, and University Holidays

Admission is free. Donations are welcome (suggested $8)

museums.iastate.edu

University Museums is a distinctive organization that encompasses two art museums, a National Historic Landmark historic home museum, a sculpture garden, and one of the largest campus public art collections in the nation. University Museums brings world-class exhibitions with educational programming to Iowa State University actively acquires works of art to add to the more than 30,000 permanent collection objects, conserves and preserves collections, conducts and publishes curatorial scholarship, and fosters student engagement.

museums.iastate.edu

To schedule interviews, photograph events, or request high-resolution images, please contact Alisha Abner at 515.294.3342 or aabner@iastate.edu.