The University of Iowa Libraries
Special Collections and University Archives
Finding Aid
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Records of the Iowa Print Group Access and Restrictions: This collection is open for research. Digital Surrogates: Except where indicated, this document describes but does not reproduce the actual text, images and objects which make up this collection. Materials are available only in the Special Collections Department. Copyright: Please read The University of Iowa Libraries' statement on Property Rights, Copyright Law, and Permissions to Use Unpublished Materials. Use of Collections: The University of Iowa Libraries supports access to the materials, published and unpublished, in its collections. Nonetheless, access to some items may be restricted by their fragile condition or by contractual agreement with donors, and it may not be possible at all times to provide appropriate machinery for reading, viewing or accessing non-paper-based materials. Please read our Use of Manuscripts Statement. Acquisition and Processing Information: This collection was donated by Virginia Myers of the UI School of Art and Art History in 2008. It was processed by Jeremy Brett in May-June 2010. A small additional accession was processed in July-August 2011. Photographs: Slides in Box 5 |
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Scope and Contents
This collection contains records from and relating to the Iowa Print Group - the renowned printmaking program within the University of Iowa's School of Art and Art History. Included in the collection are correspondence, documentation of departmental finances, records relating to the IPG's annual Travelling Show and other exhibitions, and IPG annual and biennial reports, among other materials.
Historical Note
The printmaking program has been an active component of the UI School of Art (later the School of Art and Art History) for many decades. It was initially established by Argentina-born artist Mauricio Lasansky. Lasansky came to the United States in 1943, with a Guggenheim Fellowship to study printmaking at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Printmaking was undergoing a significant renaissance at the time, with the emphasis shifting to new technical and stylistic approaches. During the 1940s, fresh spins on old techniques, especially involving intaglio, elevated the original handmade print to a new status that encouraged purchases by museums and private collectors. Lasansky, though experienced with a wide variety of printmaking techniques, was captivated by the intaglio process and dedicated his career as an artist and as a teacher to expanding the aesthetic possibilities of that technique.
In 1943, Lasansky was hired as an art professor at the University of Iowa. He promised the departmental chair, Lester Longman, that if Longman would give him four years, he would make Iowa's printmaking program the best in the United States. Longman took Lasasnky up on the challenge. Through his New York connections, Lasansky was able to organize exhibits of his and his students' work at prestigious museums. When World War II ended, and masses of veterans began attending college under the G.I. Bill, many enrolling at Iowa signed up as printmaking majors. Many former students went on to establish similar programs and departments at other colleges and universities. This helped to further lift the stature of intaglio printmaking at schools and universities as well as at museums and galleries.
The Iowa Print Group was, and is, notable for its commitment to active artistic practice. As Virginia Myers, one of Lasansky's students and later a professor herself in the IPG, put it, "The early successes of the Iowa art program depended entirely on this idea to hire active professional artists as faculty teachers." Lasansky was devoted to establishing a group ideal among his faculty artists and his students, understanding that any artistic movement depends on the work and inspiration supplied by many different creators. Hence, the designation of the department as the "Iowa Print Group".
Lasansky retired as director of the IPG in 1985. He was succeeded by his student Keith Achepohl.
Today, emphasis is placed on teaching students about significant historical print concepts and helping them discover new ways of adding to the printmaking tradition. Students also learn about artistic self-analysis through group and individual critiques. Required course work in intaglio and relief, lithography, monotype, paperworks, and foil-stamping is supplemented by annual seminars that focus on such topics as preparation for professional life, issues in print history, theory, and technical considerations. National and international visiting artists invited to the department bring diverse styles that complement the teaching and images done by the printmaking faculty.
The University's tradition of exhibiting graduate work has led to prints in juried shows throughout the United States and abroad. Group exhibits of student work often are sent to other schools on an exchange basis. Faculty work is exhibited regularly in juried national and international exhibitions, and some are permanently placed in some of the world's major museums. The IPG is regularly ranked by U.S. News & World Report as the top printmaking department in the nation.
Related Materials
LASANSKY, MAURICIO, 1914-. Papers of Mauricio Lasansky. 0.25 ft.
Professor, University of Iowa School of Art and Art History, from 1945 until 1986. Well-known for intaglio printmaking. Biography and photographs of his prints. RG99.0030. (Finding Aid)
Records of the School of Art and Art History. RG 06.07.01 (Finding Aid)
Box Contents List
Box 1
Annual and Biennial Reports, 1960 - 1965
Art Forms Programs, n.d.
Articles, Reviews, Advertisements re: IPG Faculty and Students, 1959 - 2007, n.d.
Artists: Makouchi, Munio; Marks, Claude, n.d.
Artists: Matthews, Wanda, 1953 - 1960, 1982, n.d.
Artists: Matthews, Wanda: Exhibitions, 1958 - 1963, 1982 - 1983
Artists: Richards, Jeanne Herron, 1952 - 1959
Artists: Rush, Andrew, 1956, 1959 - 1960
Artists: Smith, Moishe, 1955, 1961, 1965, 1972 - 1975
Artists: Steward, Donn, 1950 - 1954
Budget and Equipment Committee, 1973 - 1974, 1976
"The Care and Display of Prints", n.d.
Class Evaluations by Students [Anonymous], 1947 or 1948
Class Evaluations by Students [Anonymous], Spring 1949
Correspondence: Lasansky, Mauricio - David Taylor and Guadalajara/Specialists Grant, 1962 - 1963
Correspondence: Lasansky, Mauricio - Exhibition Judging, 1955, 1958, 1962, 1966
Correspondence: Miscellaneous, 1948, 1952 - 1958, 1961 - 1962, 1965 - 1966, 1969 - 1970, 1974 - 1978, 1980 - 1982, 1985 - 1992, n.d.
Correspondence: Miscellaneous from Museums, Collections, Art Galleries, 1949 - 1968, n.d.
Correspondence: Myers, Virginia, 1958 - 1961, 1967 - 1976
Correspondence: Myers, Virginia, 1977 - 1992, n.d.
Correspondence: Print Sales, 1955 - 1962
Correspondence: Print Sales, 1963 - 1966
Exhibition Summary Report, 1959 - 1960
Financial: Budget Reports, 1969 - 1978 (Incomplete)
Financial: Departmental Ledger, 1957 - 1958, 1961 - 1970 (Incomplete)
Financial: Departmental Ledger, 1961- 1966
Financial: Lithography Budget, 1983 - 1991
Financial: Scholarship Fund Record, 1959 - 1966
Foil Imaging (Virginia Myers), 2006, n.d.
Foil Imaging Workshop, 2003, 2006, 2008, n.d.
IPG Departmental Biography, 1956 - 1965
Lasansky, Mauricio - Vita and Farewell Correspondence, 1983 - 1984
Myers, Virginia, 1971, 1977 - 1979, 1981 - 1982, 1984, n.d.
Papermaking, 1986 - 1989
Papermaking: Arjormari-Prioux Paper, 1966 - 1977
Papermaking: Papermaking Workshop (Takeshi Takahara), 1978 - 1979
Plate Lithography, n.d.
Printmaking Requirements for Degree, 1975, n.d.
Seminar Lists, 1974, 1978, 1980
Shows: Blake (William) Exhibition, 1961
Shows: Correspondence on Entry Fees and Irregularities, 1958 - 1962
Shows: Correspondence on Entry Fees and Irregularities, 1963 - 1967
Shows: International Print Show, 1955
Shows: Invitations/Calls for Entries to Exhibitions, 1986 - 1990, n.d.
Box 2
Shows: IPG Travelling Show, General - 1983, 1987 - 1988, n.d.
Shows: IPG Travelling Show (1950-1954), 1948 - 1954
Shows: IPG Travelling Show (1955-1956), 1954 - 1956
Shows: IPG Travelling Show (1956-1957), 1955 - 1957
Shows: IPG Travelling Show (1957-1958), 1957 - 1958
Shows: IPG Travelling Show (1958-1959), 1957 - 1958
Shows: IPG Travelling Show (1959-1960), 1958 - 1960
Shows: IPG Travelling Show (1960-1961), 1958 - 1961
Shows: IPG Travelling Show (1961-1962), 1960 - 1962
Shows: IPG Travelling Show (1962-1963), 1962 - 1963
Shows: IPG Travelling Show (1963-1964), 1962 - 1964
Shows: IPG Travelling Show (1964-1965), 1963 - 1965
Shows: IPG Travelling Show (1965-1966), 1964 - 1966
Shows: IPG Travelling Show (1966-1967), 1965 - 1967
Shows: IPG Travelling Show - Canada, 1966 - 1967
Shows: IPG Travelling Show (1967-1968, 1968-1969), 1968 - 1969
Shows: IPG Travelling Show (1969-1970), 1968 - 1970
Shows: IPG Travelling Show (1987-1988), 1986 - 1988
Shows: IPG Travelling Show (Spring 1989), 1988 - 1989
Shows: IPG Travelling Show - Canada, 1966 - 1967
Shows: IPG Travelling Show - Germany and Italy, 1961 - 1964
Shows: IPG Travelling Shows - Various, 1990 - 1991
Shows: Prints Received for Various Shows, 1959 - 1965, n.d.
Shows: Student/Alumni Shows, 1949 - 1971
Shows: Student/Alumni Shows, 1972 - 1976
Shows: Student Shows, 1977 - 1996, n.d.
Shows: Student Shows - Pratt Graphics Center Show, 1972 - 1973, 1976
Shows: Various Exhibitions, 1961 - 1963, 1988, 2001, n.d.
Students Receiving Grants and Fellowships Lists, 1948 - 1965
Syllabi: Foil Shaping I & II (1997); Undergraduate Intaglio & Relief I (n.d.)
Veterans and Class Procedures/Supplies, 1948 - 1956, n.d.
Visiting Artists/Lecturers, 1985 - 1990
Woodcut Repair Demonstration, 1991
Box 3
Print Card File [cards containing images of prints made by students/alumni as well as information about the works]
Achepohl - Eurard
Box 4
Print Card File
Fidler - Kruse
Box 5
Print Card File
Lambros - Tyler
Slides
Slides of prints from J.L. Ochs, dates various
Folder 1
Oversized Materials:
Poster for Exhibition at Iowa Hall Gallery, Kirkwood Community College - Virginia Myers: Silver, Gold and Foil Imaging, 1966-2002, 2002
Encapsulated News Article from The Jersey Journal on IPG Alumnus Kelly B. Darr (inscribed by Darr), May 23, 2003