The Mission of the Louise Noun - Mary Louise Smith Iowa Women's Archives is to collect, preserve, and make available primary source material on the women of Iowa.
Established
in 1992, the archives is named for its founders, two prominent Des Moines
women who conceived the idea of a repository that would collect solely
on Iowa women and who worked to bring it to fruition. Louise Noun was
an art collector, historian, social activist, and philanthropist. Mary
Louise Smith was a Republican Party activist and the first woman to
chair the Republican National Committee, serving from 1974 to 1977.
Louise Noun first recognized the need for a women's repository as she researched her 1969 book on the history of women's suffrage in Iowa, Strong-Minded Women. She later shared with Mary Louise Smith her frustration about the scarcity of primary sources by and about women, and the two determined to establish a repository to document the experiences and achievements of the women of Iowa. In 1991 Louise Noun auctioned the Frida Kahlo painting "Self-Portrait with Loose Hair" to permanently endow the archives. The Iowa Women's Archives is supported by that initial gift and by the generosity of donors who continue to contribute to the archives fund.
Photo by Jon Van Allen.
Hours 
Site Search
Ask a Librarian 
