State Fairs and the Smithsonian
The Iowa State Fair will be featured in "State Fairs: Growing American Craft," an exhibition on display at the Smithsonian's Renwick Gallery in Washington D.C. August 22, 2025-September 7, 2026. The exhibition is dedicated to artists' contributions to the great U.S. tradition of state fairs with more than 240 artworks on view, dating from the mid-nineteenth century to the present.
The display will include a life-size butter cow created on-site by the Iowa State Fair's official butter sculptor Sarah Pratt, plus a display of more than 700 glass jars of preserved fruits and vegetables by canning superstar Rod Zeitler.
"A blue ribbon-worthy exhibition of state fair crafts." CBS Sunday Morning. 14 September 2025.
Iowa Artists featured in “State Fairs: Growing American Craft”
1. Beth Grabau, The Pump House, 2023, mixed media including wood, Courtesy of Beth Grabau (resides Adel, IA)
2. Anne Hanson, thread pattern design by Alison Cole, Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly, 2023, 6-stranded silk floss, Courtesy of Anne Hanson (resides Cedar Rapids, IA)
3. Sarah Pratt, Hannah Pratt, Grace Pratt, Curious Regard, 2025, butter over armature of wood and metal (resides West Des Moines, IA)
4. Mary Shotwell, My Millefiore, 2023, cotton fabric, hand-pieced and appliqued, Courtesy of Mary V. Shotwell
5. Debra Wykert, Temperature Quilt - Wonky Weather, 2023, cotton, Courtesy of Debra Wykert (resides Muscatine, IA)
6. Deborah Zeitler, Green Vessel with Beads, 2022, cotton yarn and beads, Courtesy of Deborah Zeitler (resides Iowa City, IA)
7. Deborah Zeitler, Leather Shoes, 2023, leather, Courtesy of Deborah Zeitler
8. Rod Zeitler, Home Canning Display, 2025, glass mason jars and preserved foods, Courtesy of Rod Zeitler (resides Iowa City, IA)
9. Rod Zeitler, Silk Ribbons from the Iowa State Fair, 2001–2021, silk ribbons, Courtesy of Rod Zeitler