Milwaukee Art Museum Collections

Image
Daguerreotype, Bearded Man, c. 19th century, http://www.mam.org/
Annotation

The Milwaukee Art Museum's collection includes more than 20,000 works of art ranging in date from antiquity to the present, and specializing in American decorative arts, German Expressionism, Haitian art, and American art after 1960. This website presents more than 200 pieces from the museum's collection. These works include paintings and sculptures, including several 20th-century works from Haiti; photographs, including Civil War-era portraits and masterpieces from the Great Depression era; prints and drawings primarily from French, Italian, German, and Flemish artists in the 17th-19th centuries; and a small collection of decorative arts, primarily furniture pieces from the early United States.

Beyond the website's Collection section, more artwork is on display in the Exhibitions section, which includes a selection of images from more than 25 current and past exhibitions. A highlight is the exhibit dedicated to the groundbreaking work of Milwaukee industrial designer Brooks Stevens. Here, visitors can view detailed images of some of his most famous designs, which include the Miller Brewing Company logo, the Evinrude outboard motor, and the Oscar Meyer Weinermobile.

Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site [NH]

Description

Visitors to this site can discover the beautiful home, studios, and gardens of Augustus Saint-Gaudens, one of America's greatest sculptors. Over 100 of his artworks can be seen in the galleries, from heroic public monuments to expressive portrait reliefs, and the gold coins which changed the look of American coinage. Visitors can also enjoy summer concerts, explore nature trails, or discover their own talents during a sculpture class.

The site offers a short film, exhibits, tours, workshops, other educational programs, and educational and recreational events.

Hands Of An Artist: Daniel French's Lincoln Memorial

Description

In commemoration of the bicentennial of the 16th president's birth, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, has rolled out a special exhibition called "Designing the Lincoln Memorial: Daniel Chester French and Henry Bacon," which will be on view for the rest of this year. NPR's Susan Stamberg looks at the creation of the monument which has presided over so many public events and gatherings since it was dedicated in 1922.

Lake George Historical Association and Museum [NY]

Description

The Lake George Historical Association seeks to preserve and share the history of the Lake George region, New York. To this end, the society operates a museum of local history, located within an 1845 courthouse. The museum contains the original courtroom and jail cells. Collection highlights include a plaster sculpture by John Rogers (1829-1904); a 1756 powder horn; and a chemical tank, which preceded modern day fire extinguishers.

The museum offers exhibits and tours. The website offers 10 historical photographs.

Watts Towers of Simon Rodia State Historic Park [CA]

Description

The Watts Towers are a complex set of 17 separate sculptural pieces built on a residential lot in the community of Watts. Two of the towers rise to a height of nearly 100 feet. The sculptures are constructed from steel pipes and rods, wrapped with wire mesh; coated with mortar; and embedded with pieces of porcelain, tile, and glass. Using simple hand tools and cast off materials (broken glass, sea shells, generic pottery, and ceramic tile) Italian immigrant Simon Rodia spent 30 years (1921 to 1955) building a tribute to his adopted country and a monument to the spirit of individuals who make their dreams tangible. The Watts Towers are one of only nine works of folk art listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The site is one of only four US National Historic Landmarks in the city of Los Angeles. The Los Angeles City Cultural Affairs Department, through the Watts Towers Arts Center, provides diverse cultural enrichment programming through tours, lectures, changing exhibits, and studio workshops for both teachers and schoolchildren. Each year, thousands of people are attracted to the Towers' site for the Simon Rodia Watts Towers Jazz Festival and the Watt Towers Day of the Drum Festival.

The park offers exhibits, tours, lectures, workshops, and educational and recreational events.

Extreme Art

Description

Participants will spend a spring morning exploring how artists use size and scale to focus attention on the natural world. This hands-on session with Museum Educator Camille Tewell will combine gallery discovery with the experience of monumental art in the Museum Park.

Registration Deadline
Sponsoring Organization
North Carolina Museum of Art
Phone number
919-664-6781
Target Audience
5-8
Start Date
Cost
$18 ($16 for Educator members)
Course Credit
Partial credit .25 CEU
Duration
Two and a half hours

The Harlem Renaissance

Description

From 1919 to 1929, Langston Hughes noted, "Harlem was in vogue." Black painters and sculptors joined writers and musicians in an artistic outpouring that established Harlem as the international capital of African American culture. Participants will study the evolution of the Harlem Renaissance through the music of Duke Ellington and Ethel Waters, the art of painter Archibald Motley and sculptor Augusta Savage, and the literary works of Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, and Jean Toomer, among others.

Contact email
Sponsoring Organization
Newberry Library
Phone number
312-255-3700
Start Date
Cost
$180
Duration
Seven weeks
End Date