The Figge Art Museum is an art museum in Davenport, Iowa. The Figge, as it is commonly known, has an encyclopedic collection and serves as the major art museum for the eastern Iowa and western Illinois region. The Figge works closely with several regional universities and colleges (see below) as an art resource and collections hub for a number of higher education programs.With our international travel planner, Davenport attractions like Figge Art Museum can be center stage of your vacation plans, and you can find out about other attractions like it, unlike it, near it, and miles away.
The museum opened on August 6, 2005, and is the renamed successor to the Davenport Museum of Art, which was opened on October 10, 1928, as the Davenport Municipal Art Gallery. The museum has its roots in the Davenport Art Association, which was founded before February 23, 1878, and was re-located on November 15, 1889, to the Bianca Wheeler art studio. The Figge Art Museum is one of the oldest art institutions in the country and is considered the first municipal art gallery in the United States. The Figge won an AIA award.
The new building was designed by Stirling Prize-winning Modernist British architect David Chipperfield. It was Chipperfield's first architectural commission in the United States. The Figge Art Museum gets its name from the V.O. and Elizabeth Kahl Figge Foundation, which donated $13 million towards its $47 million construction. The Figge family, a local banking family of Swiss origin, has a long tradition of philanthropy and cultural enrichment.
The first pieces of its collections were donated by Davenport community leader Charles Ficke (1850–1931), a successful lawyer and former mayor, who collected art from around the world. Robert E. Harsche, then Director of the Art Institute of Chicago, reported that to his knowledge no American public art gallery had "started out with so large a number of important paintings as a nucleus."
Source
Create an itinerary including Figge Art Museum
© OpenMapTiles © OpenStreetMap contributors
Figge Art Museum reviews
-
So the Frank Lloyd Wright exhibit drew me in, but it truly is an amazing museum for a town if this size. I highly recommend spending an hour or two here if you have time. more »
-
How lucky for Davenport to have such a wonderful museum- much larger cities are envious. The museum had both a permanent collection that is growing and always a traveling show to view. So always... more »
-
An absolute treasure. Always something great to see and experience here. The museum is small enough to do in a few hours and the changing exhibits on the 3rd and 4th floors are fresh, thoughtful, inspiring, well-designed, and sometimes even playful. Great family/children's areas. Highly recommended!
-
As an amateur artist myself, all of this really amazes me! I enjoyed being able to leave my own review on the notebooks! I hope I can go again, and draw more funny skeletons in the pages! This is great if you're into historical, surreal, or unnatural artwork!
Plan your trip to Davenport
Get a personalized trip
A complete day by day itinerary
based on your preferencesCustomize it
Refine your trip. We'll find the
best routes and schedulesManage it
Everything in one place.
Everyone on the same page.
Hidden gems in Davenport
Popular things to do in Davenport
Side trips from Davenport
Nearby attractions in Davenport
Museums in Davenport
Kid-friendly things to do in Davenport
Trips to Figge Art Museum by other users
41 days in United States
BY A USER FROM UNITED STATES
Columbus
Saint Louis
Tulsa
41 days in United States
BY A USER FROM UNITED STATES
Columbus
Saint Louis
Tulsa
18 days in Davenport & Yellowstone National Park
BY A USER FROM UNITED STATES
Davenport
Yellowstone National Park
2 days in Davenport
BY A USER FROM UNITED STATES
Vander Veer Botanical Park
Atomic Cannon
Jumer's Casino Rock Island
7 days in Iowa
BY A USER FROM UNITED STATES
Des Moines
Davenport
Dubuque
15 days in United States
BY A USER FROM UNITED STATES
New Orleans
Natchez
Lake Village