Preservation

Worker remove windows from the cupola of the Studio during 2007 renovations to the exterior of the building.

According to CRMA's Executive Director Terry Pitts, history has been kind to the Studio. "We are very fortunate that the Grant Wood Studio has had only two owners in the past seventy-five years, and they both understood its historic value. While there was and still is a considerable amount of preservation work to do, the crucial elements of the original architecture have been preserved."

For phase two renovations everything on the outside of the Studio from the weathervane to the ground was restored during the summer and fall of 2007 so the Grant Wood Studio would be ready to face another Iowa winter. It has a new paint job—with some surprising paint colors—and a new roof. In addition, all of the original windows were removed and painstakingly restored. "I suspect the exterior looks as good as it did when Wood moved in more than eighty years ago," Pitts says. The $400,000 phase two project was funded by a major gift from the Virginia Broadston Berg Trust, a Historic Site Preservation Grant from the State Historical Society of Iowa, and private donations. OPN Architects oversaw the project and Renaissance Restoration served as general contractor.

In coming years, the Museum plans for a third phase of renovation to do a complete restoration of the interior of the Studio so that it looks much as it did when Wood designed, built, and lived in it.

Important preservation work has already been accomplished, but there is still more to do. An endowment has been established. If you are interested in supporting further preservation of the Grant Wood Studio, contact CRMA Development Director Kelly Leusch at 319.366.7503 ext. 207 or via email at kleusch@crma.org.