This is the fourth in a series of ARTicles featuring the newly restored paintings on display at the freshly renovated Marshalltown Arts & Civic Center (MACC). Each month a different painting will be featured.

In 1958, Bill and Dorothy Fisher gifted Marshalltown the most extraordinary legacy; a stunning mid-century modern community center and a world class art collection highlighting the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

After 55 years, the community center and collection were both in need of restoration. In 2017, the process began with the full support of the Fisher Family and the Fisher Governor Foundation. Committees were formed to write grants, digitize records, reach out to organizations and individuals for funding, and hire technical experts and consultants.

An on-site evaluation of the collection was completed the day before the EF-3 tornado devastated the north side of Marshalltown and the appraisal of the collection was completed in 2018. A total of 44 artworks, (paintings and sculptures) were chosen for restoration.

In July 2020, the Chicago Conservation Center retrieved the identified works. The very next month, the community center, and much of Marshalltown, was decimated by a derecho.

Restoration of the art was completed in 2021, and the Fisher Art Museum opened in September 2022.

Currently on display are approximately half of the paintings from the Fisher Art Collection. The others are resting in climate-controlled storage and will be on view in 2025.

Today’s featured artist is Augustus John. His painting ‘Poppet’ and a handwritten letter to Windsor Court can both be seen in the Fisher Art Museum.

The son of a prominent lawyer, Augustus John was born in 1878 in the Welsh seacoast town of Tenby. John discovered his passion for drawing at an early age and received his formal training at the Slade School in London. During his academic years, John discovered a personal style and flair that throughout his life remained his “signature look.” Much as one can guarantee that Liza Minelli will sport a close-cropped hair style and bright red lipstick, so it was a certainty that John would appear in flowing smocks, with colorful scarves and elaborate headgear.

John and his wife Ida were fascinated with the lifestyle of “gypsies,” and for years they and their children lived in a caravan. The family finally settled in Paris, where Ida died birthing their fifth child. John eventually remarried and with his second wife had four additional children. His family eventually took up permanent residence in Hampshire, England.

The artist became revered for his striking portraits. Oscar Wilde, Dylan Thomas, and the Prince of Wales were among the literary and political figures who sat for him. John’s portraits would begin slowly, with a great deal of staring and circling about, and suddenly the image would take form with great speed. Those who admire his work think his ability to paint impulsively best expressed his talent. As his friend Wyndham Lewis said, “John was a great man of action into whose hands the fairies struck a brush instead of a sword.”

Currently on view at the Fisher Art Museum is ‘Poppet’, a 1939 oil painting of John’s daughter Elizabeth Anne, who was born in 1912. Poppet was her family nickname. She was one of her father’s favorite subjects to sketch and paint. The portrait was gifted to Bill Fisher by Francis Taylor, Elizabeth Taylor’s father. Francis was a good friend of Bill’s and John’s longtime agent.

Adjacent to the painting, hangs a handwritten letter from John dated Sept. 27, 1939. The letter is addressed to Zara Cazalet, the wife of a British Cricketer who trained horses belonging to Queen Elizabeth ll. Zara was a confident of the Queen, sometimes acting as her secretary. In the letter, John seeks permission to do a formal portrait of the Queen and references his recently completed portrait of ‘Poppet’. John’s character and temperament are evident in the letter to Zara. So, too, the deep friendship he shared with the Taylor’s.

In his middle years, Augustus John became a pacifist and supported many campaigns for peace. He continued painting into old age, passing away in 1961 at age 83.

Treat yourself to a visit to the MACC and experience the beauty in our midst. Call 641.758.3005 or visit www.maccia.org for more information.

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Nancy Adams is a member of the Fisher Art Committee.