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The "Art" in Arts and Crafts

Visual art is an integral part of Arts and Crafts Design. In fact, the design movement grew with an art movement, the Pre-Raphaelites, a group of artists who chose that name because they wanted to build their art on the technique and style of artists before the time of the late-Renaissance Italian painter Raphael. William Morris himself tried his hand at painting in the Pre-Raphaelite style along with Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Sir Edward Burne-Jones, John Everett Millais, William Holman Hunt, and others.

Those roots are evident in the furniture wallpapers, fabrics, carpets, and embroidery patterns of the Arts and Crafts Designers. Often their furniture was embellished with painting or metalwork. Fabric patterns were drawings first. Their goal was to combine the beauty and usefulness of the arts into a coherent, satisfying whole.

Iowa has its own art tradition. Perhaps its best-known native artist is Grant Wood, famous for his icon American Gothic and for his stylized but entrancing renditions of the Iowa landscape. In Iowa, the land itself is art, pattern, texture, and color; changing with the seasons, lit by the sun, rubbed by the clouds, tossed and reborn with the wind.

No building attempting to celebrate Iowa could ignore those traditions. So, the Hotel Pattee is honored to share the work of more than 30 artists, many of them from Iowa. Their work is an example of that creativity we all possess and of the legacy of Iowa, the beautiful land. Their names are listed below. If you want more information about them, their stories, and the paths that led them to create the art you see around you, please ask at the Front Desk.

Dennis Adams

David Ahmanson
Amana Craftsmen

Ellen Bak

Charles Barth

John A. Bayalis, Jr.

Rich Birdsell

Gary Bowling

Rob Brennan

Guy Buffet

John Clark

Marianne Cone

Currier & Ives

David Dahlquist

Susanne Elson

Will Ghromley

V. T. "Snick" Hamlin

Lauri Hilgemann

Ann Hirou

Sarah Grant-Hutchinson
Mac Hornecker

Jan Kasprzycki

Mary Kline-Misol

Steven R. Kozar

David Kreitzer

Betty Lenz

Tanya Lichinsky

Bill Luchsinger

Jim Lueders

Adam Madebe

Paul Marshall

Margaret Matlack

Robert McKibbin

Carlo Moretti

William Morris

Elinor Noteboom

Betsy Peterson

Janet Pittman

John Preston

John Sayles

Betye Saar

Yuri Shamlidy

Millard Sheets

Doug Shelton

Jack Silverman

Gary Ernest Smith

Karen Strohbeen

Paul Taylor

John Vander Stelt

Barbara Vaske

Ellen Wagener

Brian Williams 

Randy "Charging Bear" Williams

Amy Worthen

Frank Lloyd Wright

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Hotel Pattee is truly a unique destination that provides guests with an unforgettable experience. Not only can guests immerse themselves in a museum atmosphere from the moment they step through the door, but they can also enjoy this incredible experience from the comfort of their own room.

Book your stay in 1 of our 40 individually designed and themed guest rooms and discover the magic of Hotel Pattee for yourself!

In the Hotel Pattee, we catch glimpses of isolated moments, framed and unframed, coming to life from the hand of the artist. We are surrounded by these images suspended in time and invite you to explore the grounds of the Hotel Pattee to experience these isolated moments with a self-guided tour. Hotel Pattee's museum collection of art includes a permanent collection of art from over thirty artists with over one-hundred-seventeen pieces as well as numerous pieces from a changing collection of featured artists throughout the year.

Main Level Stops

Printable Self-Guided Tour

Lower Level Stops

Soumas Court Stops

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