Exhibition and Art & Art History class explore the Alden Lowell Doud Collection

Friday, February 20, 2015

Alden Lowell Doud, known always by his middle name, was a soft-spoken man whose quiet demeanor belied his passion for art and his loyalty to Iowa. After a career in international law and finance, he returned to his home state and settled in Iowa City, where he became a valued supporter of the UI Museum of Art (UIMA). With him came more than two hundred works of art.

This UIMA exhibition in the Iowa Memorial Union Black Box, showing from February 28 through May 17, provides not only an intimate look at a unique personal collection, but also a laboratory for students enrolled in the UI class “The Art Museum: Theory and Practice.” A video of Lowell Doud’s collection as it was displayed in his home introduces the exhibition of seventy-five works, with additional pieces and accompanying research provided by members of the class during the semester.

Students in the course, taught in the gallery by School of Art and Art History Professor Joni L. Kinsey, will literally put theory into practice. They will review histories and methods by which museums collect and display art, and examine questions related to curating and research, as they develop wall labels and small displays within the exhibition.

This exhibition was curated by UIMA Chief Curator Kathleen A. Edwards. The Alden Lowell Doud Collection was catalogued by Edwards and former UI students Alice Phillips, PhD, and Sarika Sugla, MFA.

Funding for the exhibition was provided in part with a grant from the International Fine Print Dealers Association, and with donations from H. Dee and Myrene Hoover, the Koza Family Fund, and the UIMA Members Special Exhibition Fund.

The University of Iowa College of Liberal Arts and Sciences offers about 70 majors across the humanities; fine, performing and literary arts; natural and mathematical sciences; social and behavioral sciences; and communication disciplines. About 15,000 undergraduate and nearly 2,000 graduate students study each year in the college’s 37 departments, led by faculty at the forefront of teaching and research in their disciplines. The college teaches all Iowa undergraduates through the college's general education program, CLAS CORE. About 80 percent of all Iowa undergraduates begin their academic journey in CLAS. The college confers about 60 percent of the university's bachelor's degrees each academic year.