Before the Crash: The Panic of 1873 in Paint
Overview
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December 4, 2026–June 2027
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European Art Galleries, Level 2, Gallery S202
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Free for Members
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Included with admission
A Layton Art Collection Focus Exhibition
The People’s Bank Shortly Before the Crash, a painting by German artist Christian Ludwig Bokelmann, portrays the event in May 1873 when the Volksbank in Vienna, Austria, closed its doors to customers. Outsized speculation around that year’s World’s Fair in the city had destabilized Vienna’s stock market, and the bank feared a disastrous run on its accounts. Thus began the financial collapse now called the Panic of 1873. Over several months, the panic spread to the rest of Europe and the United States, followed by years of deflation known as the Long Depression.
This exhibition puts the painting into context, exploring the moment in history it depicts and the painting’s importance at the time it was made.
Before the Crash: The Panic of 1873 in Paint is a Layton Art Collection Focus Exhibition. The steward of the collection that Frederick Layton started, one of Milwaukee’s founding public art collections, the Layton Art Collection, Inc., is proud to partner with the Milwaukee Art Museum.
