ISU students and faculty don’t have to travel to Chicago, New York or even Europe to see the work of world-famous artists.For the next eight weeks, community members have the rare opportunity to view some of the most significant impressionist paintings for free, right here in Ames.The 17-piece collection “From Degas to Cassatt: Impressionist Art from the Fisher Governor Collection” is on display at the Brunnier Art Museum, located in the Scheman Building at the Iowa State Center. “Impressionism is the most popular style in our world today,” says Gary Tartakov, professor of art and design. “It is the most commonly reproduced stuff, because it is almost all pretty subjects in a gauzy, colorful style.”In most impressionist paintings, there is very little social content, but an abundance of “middle class people doing enjoyable, vacationing things,” Tartakov adds. “We have many good examples of some of the top impressionists, like Edgar Degas, Mary Cassatt and Henri Matisse,” says Dana Michels, University Museums Associate Curator. Mary Cassatt is the only American, and the only woman, whose work graces the Brunnier walls. Her pastel piece “Mother and Child” is one of the more recognized works in the exhibit, Michels says. It depicts a concerned mother gazing down upon her child, a blue-eyed infant with rosy pink cheeks. “Most of impressionism is very cool,” says Dennis Raverty, assistant professor of art and design. “It is a brilliant study of the different effects of light and atmosphere. But the figures often lack personalities.”The work of Mary Cassatt is a pull away from this “cool, removed, even clinical” approach to depicting a subject, according to Raverty. “Mary Cassatt gets more personal,” he adds. “She addressed themes of motherhood. That makes her very unique.” Degas’ “Dancers on the Stage” is another of the best known pieces in the collection. It draws the viewer into the pink, yellow and blue-green world of a group of delicate dancers with blurred, indistinct faces. Although most of the art in the exhibit is considered impressionist, there are a few pieces that are considered post impressionist, Michels says.One of these pieces, Paul Signac’s “L’odet a Quimper,” reveals the artist’s gradual shift from impressionism to pointillism, which is recognized by dots of color instead of the traditional longer brush strokes.”His Studio,” by Maurice de Vlaminck, is another post-impressionist piece on display. This painting actually takes on some of the more elemental characteristics of cubism, according to Michels.The entire collection is special for Iowa State in a few ways, Michels says.University Museums had to pay very little to host the exhibit, which is permanently housed in the Fisher Community Center in Marshalltown. Instead of paying, Brunnier lent some of its own Christian Petersen sculptures to the Center in exchange for the impressionist exhibit.In the next few weeks, ISU professors from a variety of academic specialties, including French history, art and women’s studies, will be critiquing the artwork. Their comments will be posted next to each respective piece. “We are trying to make the art here relevant for students and faculty in all areas, not just in the art department,” Michels says.The exhibit is memorable for Brunnier because it was the same collection the museum hosted when it opened its doors in 1975.

But not exactly the same collection. One important piece is missing.When the collection first came to Brunnier, it contained a painting that is not in the current line-up. Claude Monet’s “Fishing Boats near Cliffs of Entretat” was in the original catalog, but was stolen from the Fisher Community Center in 1987.The thief had cut out the canvas, leaving only the bare frame hanging on the wall. A search, with help from the FBI, immediately ensued, but the perpetrator was never brought to justice. About a year after the painting was stolen, the Fisher Foundation was reimbursed the $175,000 value of the painting by its insurance company. Two weeks later, the painting was found folded and damaged in a mail drop box in nearby LeGrand. The insurance company sold the painting to a private collector, while the insurance money was used to install a tighter security system to protect the other art housed in the Fisher Center. “The Monet piece would have been the most recognized in the collection,” Michels says.The public is welcome to view the remaining 17 pieces during regular museum hours, which are Tuesday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Thursday evening from 5 to 9 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m.