The University of Iowa Museum of Art has an extraordinary collection of African art. Along with wooden sculpture and masks, the collection includes textiles, ceramics, metalwork, basketry, and countless other media. Most of these objects served religious, political, and social functions, and they reveal a great deal about traditional African lives and beliefs. Other works, including sculpture by contemporary African artists, provide insight into the globalization of African art.
The collection is centered on the more than 700 objects in the Stanley Collection, donated by C. Maxwell and Elizabeth Stanley of Muscatine, Iowa. The Stanley Collection includes classic examples of each major type of sub-Saharan African sculpture. The Stanleys believed that art could be a tool for understanding across cultures. They built their collection of African sculpture with the intention of donating it to the University, where it is now used to teach and inspire visitors from Iowa and beyond.
The University of Iowa Museum of Art has an extraordinary collection of African art. Along with wooden sculpture and masks, the collection includes textiles, ceramics, metalwork, basketry, and countless other media. Most of these objects served religious, political, and social functions, and they reveal a great deal about traditional African lives and beliefs. Other works, including sculpture by contemporary African artists, provide insight into the globalization of African art.
The collection is centered on the more than 700 objects in the Stanley Collection, donated by C. Maxwell and Elizabeth Stanley of Muscatine, Iowa. The Stanley Collection includes classic examples of each major type of sub-Saharan African sculpture. The Stanleys believed that art could be a tool for understanding across cultures. They built their collection of African sculpture with the intention of donating it to the University, where it is now used to teach and inspire visitors from Iowa and beyond.