The Blanden Memorial Art Museum was founded in 1931, as the first permanent art facility in Iowa. Former Mayor of Fort Dodge, Charles Granger Blanden, generously funded the construction of the museum in memory of his wife, Elizabeth Mills Blanden.

The neoclassical building, which is on the national Register of Historic Places, is located in the interesting Oak Hill District of Fort Dodge.

Along with the beauty and historical significance of the museum, the Blanden maintains a high standard of exhibition quality and dynamic spirit of community outreach in the visual arts. The Blanden is dedicated to a mission of providing learning opportunities to engage the community and foster creativity.

The result is a compelling combination – a full, vital and inviting range of programs, classes, activities, and special events. The permanent collection includes works by internationally renowned artists, as well as regional artists, in a wide variety of mediums.

Vision

The Blanden Art Memorial Museum’s vision is to be an innovative visual art museum dedicated to imagination and learning opportunities. Our focus will be creating an environment attracting children’s and adults’ interest through the use of our excellent permanent collection and by organizing innovative and thoughtful temporary exhibitions.

Mission

The Blanden Art Museum strives to integrate visual arts into everyday life through opportunities for experiential learning and creative visual thinking, using the permanent collection and museum-organized exhibitions with interpretive materials, artists facilitated discussions, scholarly presentations, hands-on workshops for children and adults, school tours, and off-site programming.

Goal

Permanent collection and temporary exhibitions with interpretative labels and frequently gallery guides and Blanden catalog publications, expert speakers, adult workshops, children’s classes,outreach programs to mentally and physically challenged individuals are the major vehicles for providing visual learning opportunities at the Blanden Art Museum.

The Founder

In 1930, the Fort Dodge Federation of the Arts represented by Mr. And Mrs. O.M. Oleson traveled to San Diego with the intent of talking to Charles Blanden about their plans for an art museum. Blanden was a former City of Fort Dodge mayor in the late 1880′s, who had a successful business career and retired to San Diego, with his wife, Elizabeth, a former Fort Dodge school teacher. Elizabeth Blanden died in 1929. Charles Blanden believed he had two variable choices: building an art museum in San Diego dedicated to his wife’s memory or in Fort Dodge, Iowa. He chose Fort Dodge, giving $35,000 to build the museum in a classic architectural style. Charles Blanden, who died in 1933, also bequeathed his collection of art to the museum.

The Iowa state law was changed to have a municipal fine arts museum located in a city of less than 50,000. The City Council of Fort Dodge passed an ordinance approving the art museum building on October 22, 1930.

The museum site was land donated by Mrs. Ringland the heir of Woolsey Wells, a pioneer settler of Fort Dodge, and maternal grandmother of Ann Smeltzer. The Blanden is located in the heart of the Oak Hill Historic District near the center of Fort Dodge and is Iowa’s first permanent art museum.

The Inaugural Date

The museum’s construction was completed, the dedication ceremony held and the doors opened on June 5, 1932, with Judge E.E. Cavanaugh president of the Board of Trustees presenting and Mayor C.V. Finlay accepting the Blanden Memorial Art Museum as a municipally funded museum for the people of Fort Dodge.

The Building

The museum was built in a classical architectural style from funds given to the city by Charles Blanden for the purpose of building an art museum in Fort Dodge. The Blanden was designed by architect E.O. Damon Jr. of Fort Dodge in 1931 and was modeled after the neo-classical design of the Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown, Ohio. The cost to build the museum in the 1930′s was $35,000.

The 1932 original 6,000 square foot building was increased with the 1998 addition of 4,000 square feet to the north side of the museum. The new addition enabled the museum to assist viewers with physical mobility challenges with an elevator to all floors, handicapped parking level, ADA compliance bathrooms, and east entrance with coat-check facilities, kitchen gallery, additional storage areas, and fire-coded stairway.

The Collection

The Blanden’s permanent collection is its strength and guiding principle. The Blanden is recognized for its superb holdings of modem American and European paintings, African sculptures, and the 16th _20th century American, European, and Japanese prints.

Donations of artwork, in addition to Charles Blanden’s collection, were received from many individuals. The art collection contains at least sixty exceptional art historically important works; Ann Ringland Smeltzer, Dr. Albert Barnes, John Brady Jr. and Mrs. Eugene Prendergast gave the majority of these pieces. Included in the internationally known artworks are Hoffman, Beckman, Chagall, Klee, Kandinsky, Moore, Calder, Motherwell, Miro, Prendergast, Marini, and Tamayo. Other donations of works have been received by generous gift or purchase to the museum.

The Cultural Gem

The Blanden Art Museum is proud to meet the highest museum standards, achieved through an extensive and rigorous accreditation process, and conferred by the American Association of Museums (AAM). Accreditation recognizes a museum’s commitment to excellence and demonstration of high professional standards.

The Blanden is one of approximately 10% of the total number of museums in the United States accredited American Association of Museums. The accreditation by the AAM is the highest distinction to be reached by museums. Of over 7,000 arts, science, historical, and natural science museums in the United States only 775 reach this level of accreditation standards. The Blanden Art Museum, the Chicago Art Institute, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and other major art museums have achieved this sought after distinction.

As a regional cultural center, through its diverse collections, and by its community involvement, the Blanden is recognized as a nationally accredited museum and vital regional art center, hosting major exhibitions every year.

The Oak Hill Historical Neighborhood

Prominent Fort Dodge businessmen, industrialists, and bankers built large stately homes in the area surrounding the Blanden between the Civil War and WWI. The development of Oak Hill mirrored the early community’S waves of progress from mid- 1800′s through the early 20th century. The Blanden Memorial Art Museum is the only building in the district that is not a private residence. The four-block neighborhood was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.