The Iowa quarter is the 29th to join the 50 State Quarters^® Program as Iowa was the 29th state to join the Union.  The quarter's design is based on a painting by Grant Wood, who lived in Iowa.  The painting shows a teacher and her students planting a tree near their country schoolhouse.

The painting illustrates Iowa's "Foundation in Education."  Iowans have cared about education since the state's earliest days.  When Iowa became a state in 1846, it already had several schools in each of its counties.  Iowa's first high school opened a few years later even though there weren't many high schools in other states until after 1900.

The image of a tree being planted also shows how Iowans care about the environment and about agriculture.  Growing fruits and vegetables has always been an important part of Iowa's history.

The name of the artist, Grant Wood, appears below the image from his painting called "Arbor Day."