Public Works of Art in the Quad-Cities

The Quad-Cities has a wealth of public works of art. These works include sculptures by internationally recognized artists such as Henry Moore, Beverly Pepper and Sol LeWitt. Some of these works -such as a five story mural by Richard Haas- are truly monumental. Spanning more a century, a great range of artistic styles are represented.

I have included approximately one hundred of these works on this site. I have tried to create a site that is representative of the variety of the outdoor art work found throughout the Quad-Cities in parks, college campuses, cemeteries, and on the grounds of governmental, civic, commercial, and corporate buildings. Along with major commissions by professional artists, I have included work by area artists who received little financial compensation (and too little recognition) for their efforts. I have tried to balance larger-than-life, idealized sculptures with less serious -even whimsical- works.

As I began work on this site, I developed the following working definition of a public work of art: a sculptural form or mural that is permanently displayed outdoors in a public place. This definition excludes interior or temporary works. For example, I have excluded paintings in the area galleries, stained-glass church windows, seasonal displays and performance art pieces. With a few exceptions, I have also not included architectural forms.

My intention is to bring a greater awareness to our area's public sculptures and murals -bringing some recognition to their quality and breadth. By no means is this an attempt to document every work.

I have gathered and edited information from numerous sources: the Quad City Times, student assignments, pamphlets and direct interviews. Though I have strived to be accurate, I recognize that my information may be incomplete or not fully correct.

This site also has about a dozen of my drawings and sketches of these sculptures. The drawings range from 15-minute on-site sketches to finished works drawn from the several hundred slides, print and digital photographs I have taken.

This project was funded by a grant from Quad City Arts.

The website is designed and created by Bruce Walters, 1998-2001.
All photographs and drawings are copyrighted by Bruce Walters.