Des Moines Art Center announces successful completion of project with funds from Bravo Greater Des Moines 2018 Capital Campaign and Project Grant

DES MOINES, IA (November 2018) The Des Moines Art Center is pleased to announce the successful completion of the replacement of the John Brady Print Gallery east wall on Friday, Nov. 2. This project was made possible in part through a $27,000 Capital Campaign and Project Grant (CCPG) from Bravo Greater Des Moines. Located in the 1948 Saarinen building, the wall had been damaged by moisture. The print gallery is the first gallery visitors see when entering the museum; hence, the Art Center was especially eager to restore it to its full potential.

Bravo’s support and grant-making programs enable the Art Center to provide quality art and art education opportunities, vital in making Des Moines a vibrant community for people to live, work, and visit. To ensure these opportunities remain accessible, the Art Center provides free programming nearly 365 days a year, including educational activities, tours, and admission to the museum and Pappajohn Sculpture Park. Bravo’s support increases our capacity to serve Greater Des Moines by providing essential arts and cultural experiences.

Des Moines Art Center

Recognized by international art critics as a world-class museum in the heart of the Midwest, the Des Moines Art Center has amassed an important collection with a major emphasis on contemporary art. The collection’s overriding principle is a representation of artists from the 19th century to the present, each through a seminal work. This accounts for an impressive collection that ranges from Edward Hopper’s Automat to Jasper Johns’ Tennyson, Henri Matisse’s Woman in White, Georgia O’Keeffe’s From the Lake No. 1, Francis Bacon’s Study after Velásquez’s Portrait of Pope Innocent X, Bill Viola’s Ascension, and Cecily Brown’s Half-Bind.

The Art Center’s physical complex marries with the collection for a totally integrated experience. The collection is housed in three major buildings, each designed by a world-renowned architect – Eliel Saarinen, I. M. Pei, and Richard Meier. With the exception of special events, admission to the museum is free.

In September 2009, the John and Mary Pappajohn Sculpture Park opened in Des Moines’ Western Gateway Park. Philanthropists John and Mary Pappajohn have provided funding for and donated 30 sculptures by internationally acclaimed contemporary artists to the Des Moines Art Center. The collection of sculptures by such artists as Ai Weiwei, Louise Bourgeois, Deborah Butterfield, Willem de Kooning, Mark di Suvero, Keith Haring, Ellsworth Kelly, Yayoi Kusama, Jaume Plensa, Richard Serra, and Joel Shapiro is the most significant donation of artwork to the Art Center in a single gift in the museum’s history. The Pappajohn Sculpture Park is a collaboration of the Pappajohns, the City of Des Moines, the Des Moines Art Center, and numerous corporate and private donors.