Original Artwork by James Konrad
Recognized as one of the top artists of his Midwestern region, Jim (James) Konrad (1943-2011) is fondly remembered for his willingness to share his expertise on the particulars of artists' materials and methods—whether it was conserving a painting, discussing art history or making chalk pastels from scratch. After serving as a medic in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War, he received his M.F.A. in printmaking and painting in 1973 from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. He moved to the Quad Cities to be the first Artist-in-Residence at the Davenport Museum of Art (now Figge Museum of Art). From 1979 through 1983, he was a paint formulator and color specialist for D.C. Franche Paint Manufacturing Company, Davenport, Iowa. From 1984 to 1988 he taught art at Davenport's Marycrest College before joining the faculty at Augustana College (Rock Island, IL) in 1989. He was an instructor in printmaking, drawing and art education at Augustana for over 20 years.
Konrad often won awards in regional exhibitions, recognized for his commanding realist still life paintings with symbolic content addressing issues of censorship, warfare and terrorism. In 1994, the Davenport Museum of Art honored him with a retrospective exhibition. In later years he focused on landscapes that profoundly conveyed the beauty of his Iowa roots. His work is included in such collections as the Ford Manufacturing Company, Davenport, Iowa; Fort Benning Military Museum, Georgia; HON Corporation, Muscatine, Iowa; John Deere Corporation, Tokyo, Japan; Meredith Publishing Company, Des Moines, Iowa; the Muscatine Art Center, Iowa; University of Missouri, Kansas City; as well as the Figge Museum of Art and Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois.
- Text by Sherry Maurer
- Photographs by Randy Richmond,
- Site Design and Additional Photographs by Jeff Konrad
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