One of the most influential – albeit mostly unknown – women in American art history will be the subject of a March 4 virtual program presented by the Figge Art Museum, with the Davenport venue hosting Dr. Ranelle Knight-Lueth's Who Was Leila Mechlin?, an exploration on the prominent member of the American Federation of arts who also served as an art critic for the Washington Evening Star and Sunday Star newspapers.

The fascinating role of portraiture throughout art history will be the subject of a virtual Figge Art Museum presentation on February 25, with American Artists' Self-Portraits Then & Now serving as a companion event – one hosted by recently retired Chief Curator Emerita Brandon Brame Fortune of the National Portrait Gallery – to the Figge's eagerly awaited exhibition For America: 200 Years of Painting from the National Academy of Design.

Art aficionados are invited to celebrate the Figge Art Museum's highly anticipated For America: 200 Years of Painting from the National Academy of Design alongside Figge Director Michelle Hargrave, National Academy of Design Director Gregory Wessner, and American Federation of Arts Director Pauline Willis, with the Academy's Director of Collections Diana Thompson and Figge Assistant Curator Vanessa Sage - in a February 18 Virtual Opening Celebration - exploring parallels between their collections and the origins of this grand exhibition.

With its first photography exhibit since the venue opened in the summer of 2017, Bettendorf's Beréskin Gallery & Art Academy treats guests to 43 works from 23 area artists in the February 5 opening reception for The Photographic Exploration Project, with the included artists ranging “from very talented hobbyists to those that are professional,” according to gallery owner Pat Beréskin. “For our first call to entry for photography, we are quite pleased with the quality of the results.”