The Grinnell College Art Collection began with 28 etchings given in honor of Maude Little Macy (1845-1926) and $1200 raised for the purchase of art during the endowment campaign of 1908. Since then, gifts, bequests, and judicious purchases made possible by the Marie-Louise and Samuel R. Rosenthal Fund, Clinton A. Rehling estate, and Vernon E. and Amy Hamamoto Faulconer have helped to build a collection of more than 5,000 works of art on paper.

The collection is distinguished by its social and political commentary by artists who have taken up pen and stylus as weapons against oppression, exploitation and human folly. It includes prints by William Hogarth, Francisco Goya, Honoré Daumier, Käthe Kollwitz, the German Expressionists, and Pablo Picasso's 1937 rage against fascism--Sueño y Mentira de Franco. Drawings slipped out of the former Soviet Union and graphic work from Eastern Europe and the Baltic States were acquired in the 1980s and 1990s. In recent years, acquisitions have included powerful and insightful works by William Kentridge and John Wilson.

In addition to the print collection, the Grinnell College Art Collection also includes works of photography, painting, and sculpture which have been purchased or acquired through generous donations. Many of these works are also used regularly in teaching and research.

A complete listing of works in the Grinnell College Art Collection is located on the college library website.

The following websites, highlighting works from the permanent collection, were created by student exhibition classes, MAP projects, and gallery interns.

View German Expressionist prints from the collection of John L. and Roslyn Bakst Goldman, a 2001 acquisition to the Grinnell College Art Collection.

View Francisco Goya's Disasters of War print series. Published many years after Goya's death, the "Disasters of War" portfolio has been through several editions. Grinnell College owns a copy of the 6th edition, given by Professor Emerita Helena Percas de Ponseti and Dr. Ignacio V. Ponseti of Iowa City.

View collection of Ironwood carvings by the Seri Indians of Sonora, Mexico.
Carvings were donated to the Grinnell College Art Collection by Dale B. Furnish '62.