Year: 2014

Layton Art Collection Board expands partnership with Milwaukee Art Museum

Layton Art Collection Board expands partnership with Milwaukee Art Museum
Agreement renews decades-old commitment to protecting Layton’s legacy

Milwaukee, Wis. – The Layton Art Collection, Inc., led for many years by Frederick Vogel III, chair of the Layton Works of Art Committee, and now by Eric Vogel, the current Layton board president, has renewed its historic agreement with the Milwaukee Art Museum to preserve and protect the Layton Collection at the Milwaukee Art Museum. The Collection, which served as the foundation for Milwaukee’s first public art gallery, has been housed at the Museum since 1957.

“The Museum could not be more proud to continue our partnership with the Layton Art Collection Board of Trustees. The legacy of Frederick Layton, through the generosity of his original gift to Milwaukee of the Layton Art Gallery and the ongoing efforts of the Layton Board of Trustees to acquire works of fine and decorative art, will continue to be enhanced, protected and shared through the Museum’s stewardship and presentation of this important Collection,” said Dan Keegan, director of the Milwaukee Art Museum. “It is an honor to continue our long standing partnership with the Layton Art Collection.”

The new agreement is an extension of a 1955 arrangement in which the Layton Art Gallery and the then-Milwaukee Art Institute coordinated a partnership to showcase the Layton Collection inside the soon-to-be-completed Milwaukee County War Memorial Center. Since that time, under the leadership and counsel of the Layton Art Collection Board of Trustees, the Milwaukee Art Museum has housed and been entrusted with Layton’s Collection.

“I want to thank the leadership of the Milwaukee Art Museum for their continued dedication to Frederick Layton’s legacy,” said Eric Vogel, president of the Layton Art Collection, Inc. “We entered into this collaborative agreement as friends and partners for the benefit of the Milwaukee community, and I think the outcome of this agreement will only reinforce our mutual commitment to protecting and presenting Layton’s masterworks for all to enjoy. After 126 years, Frederick Layton’s name and legacy will continue to play an integral role in supporting the visual arts in Milwaukee.

Under the renewed contract, the Layton Art Collection Board of Trustees retains ownership of the works in the Layton Collection, and the Milwaukee Art Museum retains responsibility for stewardship and presentation of the works. Works that are in the Layton Collection will be specially labeled when the Museum reveals its new gallery spaces in 2015, and there will be a dedicated gallery to honor Mr. Layton and the legacy of the original Layton Art Gallery as well.

“Frederick Layton opened Milwaukee’s first-ever public art gallery in 1888, which laid the foundation for the Milwaukee Art Museum. Since his death in 1919, the Layton Board has strengthened and expanded the Layton Collection, which is now a nationally respected collection of early American painting, furniture and decorative arts, as well as important European paintings from the 19th century, and select examples of 20th century American modern art,” said Vogel. “This historic agreement guarantees that the public will continue to experience the full range and diversity of the Layton Art Collection for generations.”

ABOUT MILWAUKEE ART MUSEUM
Prominently situated on the shores of Lake Michigan, the Milwaukee Art Museum campus welcomes over 400,000 visitors annually. The Museum was founded over 125 years ago and is the largest and most significant art museum in Wisconsin. It houses a rich collection of over 30,000 works, with strengths in 19th- and 20th-century American and European art, contemporary art, and American decorative arts. It is the world’s leading repository for work by untrained creators and has one of the largest collections of works by Georgia O’Keeffe. The Museum’s celebrated Santiago Calatrava–designed Quadracci Pavilion, completed in 2001, showcases both Museum-produced and traveling feature exhibitions.

RESTORE. REINSTALL. REIMAGINE.
Beginning in fall 2014, the Museum began an ambitious project to renovate its two oldest buildings, the Eero Saarinen–designed War Memorial Center (1957) and the David Kahler–designed addition (1975), which house the Museum’s Collection Galleries. Increased gallery space, including an entire floor dedicated to photography and new media, an improved gallery layout, and a new lakeside entrance are among the improvements planned. The collections will be off view through fall 2015; however, the Museum is open throughout construction, with a vibrant schedule of exciting exhibitions, educational offerings, and special programs in the Quadracci Pavilion. For more information, visit mam.org.

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Milwaukee Art Museum Holiday Hours and Events

Museum outlines holiday activities, hours
Family-friendly events take the chill, boredom out of school breaks 

Milwaukee, Wis. – The Milwaukee Art Museum announced its holiday hours for 2014, in addition to a wide variety of free family activities for the season, and your last chance to see Of Heaven and Earth: 500 Years of Italian Art from Glasgow Museums, on view through January 4, 2015.

For the holidays, the Museum will be open its usual hours, plus open on two additional days, Monday, December 22 and December 29, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Kohl’s Art Generation Studio will be open every day during regular Museum hours.

Museum hours for the holidays are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and until 8 p.m. on Thursdays. The Museum will be closed on Thursday, December 25.

As always, kids age 12 and under receive free admission to the Museum every day.

“Although the galleries are off-view while the Museum undergoes its much-needed renovation and restoration project, there’s still so much to see and do here,” said Daniel Keegan, director of the Milwaukee Art Museum. “The Museum is as alive and active as ever, with fantastic art, architecture, programs, and events. The Museum is a perfect environment to spend time together as a family and as a community.”

The Museum offers an array of family-friendly activities for the holiday season, including an Of Heaven and Earth: 500 Years of Italian Art family guide devoted just to its youngest visitors, as well as kid-friendly tours, art projects, and several live music performances throughout December.

For a more hands-on activity, kids of all ages can make their own unique art in the Kohl’s Art Generation Open Studio. Open every day during Museum hours, the Studio is a fun environment for kids to create a handmade holiday creation and for parents to learn crafty ideas for projects at home. Also available are sketchbooks for families to draw their own masterpieces in the Museum.

“I love to see families spending time together in our galleries,” said Keegan. “The Museum’s commitment to creating a friendly environment, complete with fun and educational experiences, is at the heart of what we do.”

The Museum Store will be open during Museum hours, with a variety of items for all ages. From handmade, unique, local creations to books, housewares, and jewelry, the Museum Store is a perfect place to find a special gift. Online shopping is also available.

HOURS AND ADMISSION
Monday, December 22 – 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Tuesday, December 23 – 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Wednesday, December 24 – 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Thursday, December 25 – Closed
Friday, December 26 – 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturday, December 27 – 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sunday, December 28 – 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Monday, December 29 – 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Tuesday, December 30 – 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Wednesday, December 31 – 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Thursday, January 1 – 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. (Target Free First Thursday)
Friday, January 2 – 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturday, January 3 – 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sunday, January 4 – 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Closing day for Of Heaven and Earth) 

The Museum is open Tuesday–Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Thursdays until 8 p.m. Admission is $14 for adults; $12 for students, seniors, and active military; and free for Members, Wisconsin K-12 teachers, and for children age 12 and under.

The first Thursday of each month is Target Free First Thursday and admission is free for individuals (does not apply to groups).

ABOUT MILWAUKEE ART MUSEUM
Prominently situated on the shores of Lake Michigan, the Milwaukee Art Museum campus welcomes over 400,000 visitors annually. The Museum was founded over 125 years ago and is the largest and most significant art museum in Wisconsin. It houses a rich collection of over 30,000 works, with strengths in 19th- and 20th-century American and European art, contemporary art, and American decorative arts. It is the world’s leading repository for work by untrained creators and has one of the largest collections of works by Georgia O’Keeffe. The Museum’s celebrated Santiago Calatrava–designed Quadracci Pavilion, completed in 2001, showcases both Museum-produced and traveling feature exhibitions.

RESTORE. REINSTALL. REIMAGINE.
In fall 2014, the Museum began an ambitious project to renovate its two oldest buildings, the Eero Saarinen–designed War Memorial Center (1957) and the David Kahler–designed addition (1975), which house the Museum’s Collection Galleries. Increased gallery space, including an entire floor dedicated to photography and new media, an improved gallery layout, and a new lakeside entrance are among the improvements planned. The collections will be off view through fall 2015; however, the Museum is open throughout construction, with a vibrant schedule of exciting exhibitions, educational offerings, and special programs in the Quadracci Pavilion. For more information, visit mam.org.

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Dior, Valentino, Mackie, de la Renta Coming to Milwaukee Art Museum

Milwaukee Art Museum Makes Foray into Fashion
Inspiring Beauty: 50 Years of Ebony Fashion Fair travels to Milwaukee

Milwaukee, Wis – The Milwaukee Art Museum brings haute couture to the city in Inspiring Beauty: 50 Years of Ebony Fashion Fair. Opening on February 5, 2015, it is a story of vision, innovation and power told through the prism of iconic fashion from Oscar de la Renta, Givenchy, Valentino, Dior, Pierre Cardin, Yves Saint-Laurent, Patrick Kelly and Emanuel Ungaro, among others.

Organized by the Chicago History Museum in cooperation with Johnson Publishing Company, Inspiring Beauty provides a multisensory retrospective on the fifty-year history of the charity fashion spectacle that redefined the concepts of beauty, style and empowerment for African Americans through the Ebony Fashion Fair. Over one hundred objects, including ensembles and accessories, as well as archival photographs and video, help to re-create the one-of-a-kind experience and explore the history of the traveling fashion show and its director and producer, Eunice Walker Johnson. The exhibition in enhanced by the addition of Ebony Fashion Fair garments from the collection at Mount Mary University.

“The Museum is thrilled to showcase its debut fashion exhibition and partner with International Arts & Artists to feature Inspiring Beauty,” said Daniel Keegan, director of the Milwaukee Art Museum. “This is a stunning exhibition that will be dramatically installed to give the visitor a true runway experience.”

Inspiring Beauty is presented in three sections that explore the three major themes of the exhibition. The first section of the exhibition, Vision, explores Eunice Johnson’s role as the creative force behind the Ebony Fashion Fair. It features costumes that reflect power, affluence and influence, expressing some of the traveling show’s recurring aesthetic ideas.

The second section of the exhibition, Innovation, looks at the boldness and experimentation of Johnson Publishing Company. Garments in this section reflect the full breadth of fashion fantasy that the traveling show brought audiences while the film highlights the historic significance of Johnson company publications.

The final section, Power, features Inspiring Beauty’s most elaborate, luxurious and dramatic ensembles. Costumes by Valentino, Bob Mackie, Henry Jackson and Alexander McQueen reflect the glamour and showmanship that created the dynamic visual experience that audiences expected.

“At the heart of this dynamic exhibition are the stunning gowns, feathered coats, and statement designs seen in the seventy-plus ensembles by designers including Valentino, Givenchy, Oscar de la Renta, Bob Mackie, Missoni, Patrick Kelly, Alexander McQueen, Christian Dior, Vivienne Westwood, and more, all selected from a collection of thousands that Mrs. Johnson amassed in five decades,” said Keegan.

To celebrate Milwaukee’s local connection to the Ebony Fashion Fair, a section of the exhibition will include thirteen designer garments from Mount Mary University’s signature Ebony Fashion Fair collection, part of the its 10,000 piece Historic Costume Collection. Mount Mary’s selections will feature garments by Koos Van Den Akker, Vivienne Westwood, Thierry Mugler, and Anna Sui, among others.

The Ebony Fashion Fair circuit included 170 stops each year, including Milwaukee. In addition to appearing at the now-defunct Garfield Theater on the city’s north side, Mount Mary University presented the Ebony Fashion Fair to sold-out audiences in its Kostka Theater on several occasions.

Inspiring Beauty: 50 Years of Ebony Fashion Fair was developed by the Chicago History Museum in cooperation with Johnson Publishing Company, LLC, presented by the Costume Council of the Chicago History Museum, and toured by International Arts & Artists, Washington, DC. It is presented at the Milwaukee Art Museum by Mount Mary University, and supported by Harley-Davidson Motor Company, the Joseph R. Pabst Fund of the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, the Milwaukee Art Museum’s Friends of Art, Angela and Virgis Colbert, Potawatomi Hotel & Casino, Milwaukee (WI) Chapter The Links, Incorporated, and the Milwaukee Art Museum’s African American Art Alliance. Inspiring Beauty: 50 Years of Ebony Fashion Fair is co-organized at the Museum by Camille Morgan, Exhibitions Curatorial Coordinator at Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts, University of Chicago and Monica Obniski, Demmer Curator of 20th and 21st Century Design at the Milwaukee Art Museum. It will be on view at the Milwaukee Art Museum February 5 through May 3, 2015.

 

ABOUT MILWAUKEE ART MUSEUM
Prominently situated on the shores of Lake Michigan, the Milwaukee Art Museum campus welcomes over 400,000 visitors annually. The Museum was founded over 125 years ago and is the largest and most significant art museum in Wisconsin. It houses a rich collection of over 30,000 works, with strengths in 19th- and 20th-century American and European art, contemporary art, and American decorative arts. It is the world’s leading repository for work by untrained creators and has one of the largest collections of works by Georgia O’Keeffe. The Museum’s celebrated Santiago Calatrava–designed Quadracci Pavilion, completed in 2001, showcases both Museum-produced and traveling feature exhibitions.

RESTORE. REINSTALL. REIMAGINE.
In fall 2014, the Museum began an ambitious project to renovate its two oldest buildings, the Eero Saarinen–designed War Memorial Center (1957) and the David Kahler–designed addition (1975), which house the Museum’s Collection Galleries. Increased gallery space, including an entire floor dedicated to photography and new media, an improved gallery layout, and a new lakeside entrance are among the improvements planned. The collections will be off view through fall 2015; however, the Museum is open throughout construction, with a vibrant schedule of exciting exhibitions, educational offerings, and special programs in the Quadracci Pavilion. For more information, visit mam.org.

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Free Admission for Veterans for Veterans Day

FREE MILWAUKEE ART MUSEUM ADMISSION FOR VETERANS TO COMMEMORATE VETERANS DAY

Milwaukee, Wis. – In honor of Veterans Day, the Milwaukee Art Museum will offer all Veterans and one guest FREE admission on Saturday, November 8 and Sunday, November 9, as well as on Tuesday, November 11.

Free admission includes access to the Museum’s feature exhibition, Of Heaven and Earth: 500 Years of Italian Art from the Glasgow Museums.

“This opportunity is part of an on-going series of programs and events designed to honor the rich and historic partnership the Museum has shared with the Milwaukee County War Memorial since 1957, as well as pay homage to the sacrifice of our nation’s veterans,” said Dan Keegan, director of the Milwaukee Art Museum.  “We are deeply grateful for your service.”

Veterans (with ID) plus one guest with them will receive complimentary admission throughout this weekend and on Tuesday, November 11, celebrating Veterans Day. The Museum’s hours are:

Saturday, November 8 – 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sunday, November 9 – 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Tuesday, November 11 – 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

More information can be found at mam.org.

ABOUT MILWAUKEE ART MUSEUM
Prominently situated on the shores of Lake Michigan, the Milwaukee Art Museum campus welcomes over 400,000 visitors annually. The Museum was founded over 125 years ago and is the largest and most significant art museum in Wisconsin. It houses a rich collection of over 30,000 works, with strengths in 19th- and 20th-century American and European art, contemporary art, and American decorative arts. It is the world’s leading repository for work by untrained creators and has one of the largest collections of works by Georgia O’Keeffe. The Museum’s celebrated Santiago Calatrava–designed Quadracci Pavilion, completed in 2001, showcases both Museum-produced and traveling feature exhibitions.

RESTORE. REINSTALL. REIMAGINE.
In fall 2014, the Museum began an ambitious project to renovate its two oldest buildings, the Eero Saarinen–designed War Memorial Center (1957) and the David Kahler–designed addition (1975), which house the Museum’s Collection Galleries. Increased gallery space, including an entire floor dedicated to photography and new media, an improved gallery layout, and a new lakeside entrance are among the improvements planned. The collections will be off view throughout 2015; however, the Museum is open throughout construction, with a vibrant schedule of exciting exhibitions, educational offerings, and special programs in the Quadracci Pavilion. For more information, visit mam.org.

 

Museum Hires Demmer Curator of 20th and 21st Century Design

Milwaukee Art Museum hires Demmer Curator of 20th and 21st Century Design

Milwaukee, Wis. – The Milwaukee Art Museum is delighted to announce the appointment of Monica Obniski as the Demmer Curator of 20th and 21st Century Design. She will join the staff in January 2015.

Since 2011, Obniski has been the Ann S. and Samuel M. Mencoff Assistant Curator of American Decorative Arts at the Art Institute of Chicago, where she began as a research associate and exhibition coordinator in 2007. During her tenure, she co-organized and co-authored Apostles of Beauty: Arts and Crafts from Britain to Chicago (2009), co-authored For Kith and Kin: The Folk Art Collection at the Art Institute of Chicago (2012), and oversaw several installations, including new galleries featuring twentieth-century decorative arts and design objects.

Prior to her work at the Art Institute, Obniski was a research assistant in the American decorative arts department at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She also has taught at various universities, including Columbia College, University of Illinois at Chicago, and Parsons The New School for Design.

“As the Demmer Curator of 20th and 21st Century Design, Monica will be in charge of a growing collection of modern design distinguished by holdings of Prairie School, American Art Deco, Machine Age Industrial Design, and Mid-Century Modern,” said Brady Roberts, chief curator for the Milwaukee Art Museum. “She will lead the process for installing the design collection in the newly renovated galleries, which will open in late 2015.”

Obniski has an MA in the history of decorative arts and design from the Bard Graduate Center in New York, and a BA in art history from Loyola University Chicago. She is currently completing her PhD at the University of Illinois at Chicago with the dissertation “Accumulating Things: Folk Art and Modern Design in the Postwar American Projects of Alexander H. Girard.”

“I am honored to be chosen as the next Demmer Curator at the Milwaukee Art Museum,” said Obniski. “The Museum’s outstanding collection and dedicated team make it the perfect home for me. I look forward to delving deeper into the trove of design objects at the Museum.”

The Demmer Curator of 20th and 21st Century Design position is underwritten by the Edward U. Demmer Foundation, longtime supporters of the Milwaukee Art Museum’s Design program. The Demmer Board is comprised of Richard Goisman, Robert Hanley, and Wayne Lueders.

ABOUT MILWAUKEE ART MUSEUM
Prominently situated on the shores of Lake Michigan, the Milwaukee Art Museum campus welcomes over 400,000 visitors annually. The Museum was founded over 125 years ago and is the largest and most significant art museum in Wisconsin. It houses a rich collection of over 30,000 works, with strengths in 19th- and 20th-century American and European art, contemporary art, and American decorative arts. It is the world’s leading repository for work by untrained creators and has one of the largest collections of works by Georgia O’Keeffe. The Museum’s celebrated Santiago Calatrava–designed Quadracci Pavilion, completed in 2001, showcases both Museum-produced and traveling feature exhibitions.

RESTORE. REINSTALL. REIMAGINE.
Beginning in fall 2014, the Museum began an ambitious project to renovate its two oldest buildings, the Eero Saarinen–designed War Memorial Center (1957) and the David Kahler–designed addition (1975), which house the Museum’s Collection Galleries. Increased gallery space, including an entire floor dedicated to photography and new media, an improved gallery layout, and a new lakeside entrance are among the improvements planned. The collections will be off view through fall 2015; however, the Museum is open throughout construction, with a vibrant schedule of exciting exhibitions, educational offerings, and special programs in the Quadracci Pavilion. For more information, visit mam.org.

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Free Museum admission on November 6

Experience Of Heaven and Earth: 500 Years of Italian Painting for Free on Thursday, Nov 6

Milwaukee, WI— The Milwaukee Art Museum’s next monthly Target Free First Thursday is set for Thursday, November 6, 2014. Admission is free for all individuals, and includes access to the feature exhibition, Of Heaven and Earth: 500 Years of Italian Painting from Glasgow Museums.

“We are thrilled to be able to offer this opportunity to our visitors,” said Museum Director Daniel Keegan. “The Museum’s feature exhibition, Of Heaven and Earth: 500 years of Italian Painting from Glasgow Museums, explores the history of Italian art—from the religious paintings of the late Middle Ages and Renaissance to the secular neoclassical and genre paintings of the nineteenth century – and includes a few of the most recognizable names in the world. I am excited to share our opening day festivities with the public for free, thanks to our partners at Target.”

Due to the exciting reinstallation project currently underway at the Museum, the Collection Galleries are off-view, but the spaces inside the Quadracci Pavilion remain open and active.

“As we continue this restoration and renovation process, I want to stress that the Museum remains open throughout the year. Most amenities, programs, events, tours, and activities, including Lakefront Festival of Art, MAM After Dark, Yoga, and our Kohl’s Art Generation Studio, and Target Free First Thursdays will continue while the galleries are under repair,” said Keegan. “The Quadracci Pavilion will be active and engaging for our visitors, who can still experience art, visit the Museum Store and Café Calatrava, and enjoy the lakefront vistas. We have a stellar lineup of exhibitions that our visitors will not want to miss.”

Target Free First Thursdays provides all Museum visitors with free admission on the first Thursday of each month. The Museum is open Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Future Target Free First Thursday dates include December 4, 2014, and January 1, 2015.

“At Target, our local grants are making a difference in the communities we serve,” said Laysha Ward, president, community relations, Target. “We’re proud to partner with the Milwaukee Art Museum as part of our ongoing commitment to give back to the communities where our guests and team members live and work.”

ABOUT MILWAUKEE ART MUSEUM
Prominently situated on the shores of Lake Michigan, the Milwaukee Art Museum campus welcomes over 400,000 visitors annually. The Museum was founded over 125 years ago and is the largest and most significant art museum in Wisconsin. It houses a rich collection of over 30,000 works, with strengths in 19th- and 20th-century American and European art, contemporary art, and American decorative arts. It is the world’s leading repository for work by untrained creators and has one of the largest collections of works by Georgia O’Keeffe. The Museum’s celebrated Santiago Calatrava–designed Quadracci Pavilion, completed in 2001, showcases both Museum-produced and traveling feature exhibitions.

RESTORE. REINSTALL. REIMAGINE.
Beginning in fall 2014, the Museum began an ambitious project to renovate its two oldest buildings, the Eero Saarinen–designed War Memorial Center (1957) and the David Kahler–designed addition (1975), which house the Museum’s Collection Galleries. Increased gallery space, including an entire floor dedicated to photography and new media, an improved gallery layout, and a new lakeside entrance are among the improvements planned. The collections will be off view through fall 2015; however, the Museum is open throughout construction, with a vibrant schedule of exciting exhibitions, educational offerings, and special programs in the Quadracci Pavilion. For more information, visit mam.org.

ABOUT TARGET
Minneapolis-based Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) serves guests at 1,740 stores in 49 states nationwide and at Target.com. Target is committed to providing a fun and convenient shopping experience with access to unique and highly differentiated products at affordable prices. Since 1946, the corporation has given 5 percent of its income through community grants and programs like Take Charge of Education. Today, that giving equals more than $3 million a week.

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Free Museum Admission for Italian Masters Opening

Target Free First Thursday returns October 2
First Chance to See Of Heaven and Earth: 500 Years of Italian Painting for Free

Milwaukee, WI— The Milwaukee Art Museum’s next monthly Target Free First Thursday is set for Thursday, October 2, 2014. Admission is free for all individuals, and will coincide with the opening day of the Museum’s new feature exhibition, Of Heaven and Earth: 500 Years of Italian Painting from Glasgow Museums.

“We are thrilled to be able to offer this opportunity to our visitors,” said Museum Director Daniel Keegan. “The Museum’s feature exhibition, Of Heaven and Earth: 500 years of Italian Painting from Glasgow Museums, explores the history of Italian art—from the religious paintings of the late Middle Ages and Renaissance to the secular neoclassical and genre paintings of the nineteenth century – and includes a few of the most recognizable names in the world. I am excited to share our opening day festivities with the public for free, thanks to our partners at Target.”

Due to the exciting reinstallation project that will be occurring at the Museum in fall 2014, this Target Free First Thursday will be the last chance to view the Museum’s world-class collection before it goes off view through 2015. It is also the last opportunity to see Postcards from America: Milwaukee, a photographic examination of the people and places in Milwaukee, before it closes on October 19.

Target Free First Thursdays provides all Museum visitors with free admission on the first Thursday of each month. The Museum is open Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Future Target Free First Thursday dates include November 6 and December 4, 2014.

“At Target, our local grants are making a difference in the communities we serve,” said Laysha Ward, president, community relations, Target. “We’re proud to partner with the Milwaukee Art Museum as part of our ongoing commitment to give back to the communities where our guests and team members live and work.”

ABOUT MILWAUKEE ART MUSEUM
Prominently situated on the shores of Lake Michigan, the Milwaukee Art Museum campus welcomes over 400,000 visitors annually. The Museum was founded over 125 years ago and is the largest and most significant art museum in Wisconsin. It houses a rich collection of over 30,000 works, with strengths in 19th- and 20th-century American and European art, contemporary art, and American decorative arts. It is the world’s leading repository for work by untrained creators and has one of the largest collections of works by Georgia O’Keeffe. The Museum’s celebrated Santiago Calatrava–designed Quadracci Pavilion, completed in 2001, showcases both Museum-produced and traveling feature exhibitions.

RESTORE. REINSTALL. REIMAGINE.
Beginning in fall 2014, the Museum began an ambitious project to renovate its two oldest buildings, the Eero Saarinen–designed War Memorial Center (1957) and the David Kahler–designed addition (1975), which house the Museum’s Collection Galleries. Increased gallery space, including an entire floor dedicated to photography and new media, an improved gallery layout, and a new lakeside entrance are among the improvements planned. The collections will be off view through fall 2015; however, the Museum is open throughout construction, with a vibrant schedule of exciting exhibitions, educational offerings, and special programs in the Quadracci Pavilion. For more information, visit mam.org.

ABOUT TARGET
Minneapolis-based Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) serves guests at 1,740 stores in 49 states nationwide and at Target.com. Target is committed to providing a fun and convenient shopping experience with access to unique and highly differentiated products at affordable prices. Since 1946, the corporation has given 5 percent of its income through community grants and programs like Take Charge of Education. Today, that giving equals more than $3 million a week.

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Museum Issues Community Challenge Grant

Milwaukee Art Museum issues Challenge Grant
“Improve your gift by 50%” sponsored by Milwaukee Art Museum donors Jane and George Kaiser

Milwaukee, Wis – The Milwaukee Art Museum today announced a $500,000, 1-for-2 matching challenge grant as part of its Plan for the Future campaign, which will restore and reinstall the Museum’s Collection Galleries. The grant, called “Improve Your Gift by 50%” is sponsored by Jane and George Kaiser, longtime Milwaukee Art Museum supporters.

“The Museum is 85 percent to goal for our Plan for the Future fundraising efforts,” said Mary Albrecht, director of development for the Milwaukee Art Museum. “We are hopeful that with the Kaisers’ challenge the community will respond and we will meet our goal.”

The Kaisers are regular contributors to the Museum, as well as numerous other local non profits. Married in 1973 and living in Cold War Russia, the Kaisers returned to Milwaukee with a collection of Russian art and began long careers in public and non-profit service. In 2001, the Museum Store was named in their honor. Since then they have concentrated their collecting efforts on Studio Glass, some of which will end up in the new 20th and 21st Century Design Galleries.

“We are delighted to be able to help the Museum to ensure that they meet their goal to renovate and expand one of our treasured institutions in the community,” said Jane Kaiser.

Museum Director Dan Keegan feels the Kaisers’ challenge grant is timely given that construction must start soon to make the necessary repairs.

“Since coming to Milwaukee to direct the Museum, I’ve seen firsthand the generosity of the community and support for their Milwaukee Art Museum. I am deeply grateful to Jane and George for their significant commitment to the Museum, and I encourage everyone to ‘Improve your Gift by 50%’ by giving to this worthwhile cause. It is an investment in the Museum, and in the future of Milwaukee as well,” said Keegan.

“Improve your Gift by 50%” will run through December 31, 2014. Donors can log onto mam.org/campaign for more information or to give.

ABOUT THE PLAN FOR THE FUTURE CAMPAIGN
Beginning in fall 2014, the Museum began an ambitious project to renovate its two oldest buildings, the Eero Saarinen–designed War Memorial Center (1957) and the David Kahler–designed addition (1975), which house the Museum’s Collection Galleries. Increased gallery space, including an entire floor dedicated to photography and new media, an improved gallery layout, and a new lakeside entrance are among the improvements planned. The collections will be off view through fall 2015; however, the Museum is open throughout construction, with a vibrant schedule of exciting exhibitions, educational offerings, and special programs in the Quadracci Pavilion. For more information, visit mam.org.

ABOUT MILWAUKEE ART MUSEUM
Prominently situated on the shores of Lake Michigan, the Milwaukee Art Museum campus welcomes over 400,000 visitors annually. The Museum was founded over 125 years ago and is the largest and most significant art museum in Wisconsin. It houses a rich collection of over 30,000 works, with strengths in 19th- and 20th-century American and European art, contemporary art, and American decorative arts. It is the world’s leading repository for work by untrained creators and has one of the largest collections of works by Georgia O’Keeffe. The Museum’s celebrated Santiago Calatrava–designed Quadracci Pavilion, completed in 2001, showcases both Museum-produced and traveling feature exhibitions.

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Museum Begins Ambitious Restoration and Reinstallation Project

Big changes happening at the Milwaukee Art Museum
Quadracci Pavilion remains open while Collection Galleries undergo major restoration

Milwaukee, Wis. – The Milwaukee Art Museum has started a comprehensive restoration project to repair two buildings on its campus, the Saarinen and the Kahler, and to reinstall its Collection Galleries. The $25 million project, done in partnership with Milwaukee County, which owns the two buildings, is expected to take one year.

The Quadracci Pavilion, known affectionately to Milwaukeeans as “the Calatrava,” is not part of the construction and will remain open and active. It will feature a full lineup of exhibitions, increased events, and a temporarily displaced Kohl’s Art Generation Studio that will be open during regular Museum hours, Tuesday through Sunday. The Collection Galleries, which are located inside the Saarinen- and Kahler-designed buildings and are scheduled for reinstallation, will be off view beginning October 20. Some galleries have already begun the transition.

“In spring of 2013, Milwaukee County made a generous $10 million contribution toward repairing the Saarinen and Kahler buildings, which house the Museum’s Collection. Thanks to this support, the damage that has accumulated over the years will be fixed,” said Daniel Keegan, Museum director. “In partnership with the County, and in recognition of our role in the community and as protectors of the art, the Museum will raise at least an additional $15 million to assist with the restoration and repairs, and to reinstall our Collection to improve the visitor experience.”

The Eero Saarinen–designed Milwaukee County War Memorial Center was built in 1957 and was designed as both a war memorial and an art gallery. The David Kahler addition was completed in 1975. Both buildings are owned by Milwaukee County. A leaky roof, mold infiltration, a failed HVAC system, broken concrete, leaking windows, and foundation seepage are among the problems to be remedied.

The reinstallation project will:
• Improve the environment for visitors and provide a safe home for the over 30,000 works of art in the Museum’s world-class Collection by repairing the Saarinen building and Kahler addition.
• Make it possible for more art to be on view to the public by significantly increasing gallery space.
• With the addition of a new lakeside entrance, establish easier public access to the Museum, the Collection, and a critical exhibition gallery—thereby providing a better visitor experience.
• Re-imagine how visitors approach the Collection and experience the art, through significant changes to the presentation of the art and a more intuitive layout.
• Conserve energy and improve the lighting of the art, with the installation of new LED bulbs throughout the Museum’s galleries.
• Add bathrooms on every level.

The Quadracci Pavilion was completed in 2001 and is owned by the Milwaukee Art Museum. It will not be affected by the repairs.

“As we begin this restoration process, I want to stress that the Museum remains open throughout the year. Most amenities, programs, events, tours, and activities, including Lakefront Festival of Art, MAM After Dark, Yoga, and our Kohl’s Art Generation Studio, will continue while the galleries are under repair,” said Keegan. “The Quadracci Pavilion will be active and engaging for our visitors, who can still experience art, visit the Museum Store and Café Calatrava, and enjoy the lakefront vistas. We have a stellar lineup of exhibitions that our visitors will not want to miss.”

Upcoming exhibitions include Of Heaven and Earth: 500 Years of Italian Painting from the Glasgow Museums, Inspiring Beauty: 50 Years of Ebony Fashion Fair, and Van Gogh to Pollock:Modern Rebels.

The Museum welcomes public donations as part of its restoration campaign, called the Plan for the Future.

“Public support of our initiative to restore the state’s most significant war memorial, as well as protect its most important art collection, is key,” said Keegan. “We want our visitors, supporters, and neighbors to know that they are integral to the success of the Museum. The Milwaukee Art Museum is a community treasure, and the Plan for the Future will reinvigorate the galleries and the Collection itself, making the Museum more accessible for tourists and visitors.”

HOURS AND ADMISSION
The Museum is open Tuesday–Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Thursdays until 8 p.m.
Admission is $14 for adults; $12 for students, seniors, and active military; and free for Members and for children age 12 and under. The first Thursday of each month is Target Free First Thursday and admission is free for individuals (does not apply to groups).

The Museum Store is open during regular Museum hours, Tuesday through Sunday.

Café Calatrava is open Wednesdays through Sundays, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Coffee Shop is open Tuesdays through Sundays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

ABOUT MILWAUKEE ART MUSEUM
Prominently situated on the shores of Lake Michigan, the Milwaukee Art Museum campus welcomes over 400,000 visitors annually. The Museum was founded over 125 years ago and is the largest and most significant art museum in Wisconsin. It houses a rich collection of over 30,000 works, with strengths in 19th- and 20th-century American
and European art, contemporary art, and American decorative arts. It is the world’s leading repository for work by untrained creators and has one of the largest collections of works by Georgia O’Keeffe. The Museum’s celebrated Santiago Calatrava–designed Quadracci Pavilion, completed in 2001, showcases both Museum-produced and traveling feature exhibitions.

RESTORE. REINSTALL. REIMAGINE.
Beginning in fall 2014, the Museum began an ambitious project to renovate its two oldest buildings, the Eero Saarinen–designed War Memorial Center (1957) and the David Kahler–designed addition (1975), which house the Museum’s Collection Galleries. Increased gallery space, including an entire floor dedicated to photography and new media, an improved gallery layout, and a new lakeside entrance are among the improvements planned. The collections will be off view through fall 2015; however, the Museum is open throughout construction, with a vibrant schedule of exciting exhibitions, educational offerings, and special programs in the Quadracci Pavilion. For more information, visit mam.org.

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Italian Masterworks Travel to Milwaukee

Italian masterworks travel to Milwaukee

Milwaukee, Wis – Opening in fall 2014, the Milwaukee Art Museum welcomes some of the biggest names in European art in Of Heaven and Earth: 500 Years of Italian Painting from Glasgow Museums. The exhibition debuts in Milwaukee on Thursday, October 2, and is organized by the American Federation of Arts and Glasgow Museums

Displayed in five chronological sections, Of Heaven and Earth will include paintings originating from the principal artistic centers of Italy—Rome, Milan, Bologna, Florence, Siena, Naples, and Venice—and will present the works of artists such as Giovanni Bellini, Sandro Botticelli, Domenichino, Francesco Guardi, Salvator Rosa, and Titian alongside those of lesser-known masters.

“With works by some of the most significant European masters like Giovanni Bellini, Sandro Botticelli, and Titian, Of Heaven and Earth: 500 Years of Italian Painting from Glasgow Museums will examine the thematic and stylistic developments in Italian art—from the religious paintings of the late Middle Ages and Renaissance to the secular neoclassical and genre paintings of the nineteenth century,” said Daniel Keegan, director of the Milwaukee Art Museum. “The remarkable regional and historical breadth of the exhibition will also showcase the outstanding quality of Glasgow Museums’ collection.”

“This sumptuous exhibition presents the works of famous artists that even some art historians wait a lifetime to see,” said Tanya Paul, the Isabel and Alfred Bader Curator of European Art at the Milwaukee Art Museum. “Most of the paintings have never traveled to America before, and many have been conserved specifically for this presentation.”

Of Heaven and Earth: 500 Years of Italian Painting from Glasgow Museums will be on view at the Milwaukee Art Museum from October 2, 2014 through January 4, 2015.

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
Of Heaven and Earth: 500 Years of Italian Painting from Glasgow Museums is organized by the American Federation of Arts and Glasgow Museums and is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and Humanities.

The exhibition tour is generously supported by the JFM Foundation and Mrs. Donald M. Cox. In-kind support is provided by Barbara and Richard S. Lane and Christie’s. Additional support provided by Annex Wealth Management, The Balvenie, Catholic Financial Life, and Palermo’s Pizza.

HOURS AND ADMISSION
The Museum is open Tuesday–Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Thursdays until 8 p.m. Admission is $17 for adults; $14 for students, seniors, and active military; and free for Members and for children age 12 and under.

The first Thursday of each month is Target Free First Thursday and admission is free for individuals (does not apply to groups).

ABOUT MILWAUKEE ART MUSEUM
Home to a rich collection of over 30,000 works of art, the Milwaukee Art Museum is located on the shores of Lake Michigan. Its campus includes the Santiago Calatrava-designed Quadracci Pavilion, annually showcasing three feature exhibitions, and the Eero Saarinen-designed Milwaukee County War Memorial Center, which is currently undergoing a year-long restoration. The reinstalled Collection galleries will debut to the Museum’s 400,000 annual visitors in fall 2015. For more information on the Museum’s renovations and Plan for the Future, please visit mam.org/campaign.

ABOUT THE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF ARTS
The AFA is a nonprofit institution that organizes art exhibitions for presentation in museums around the world, publishes exhibition catalogues, and develops various educational programs. The AFA’s mission is to enrich the public’s experience of art and understanding of culture by organizing and traveling a diverse offering of exhibitions embracing all aspects of art history. During the course of the organization’s 105-year history, millions of visitors in museums around the world have viewed more than 3,000 AFA exhibitions. For more information about the AFA’s exhibitions, publications, public programs, and online resources, visit www.afaweb.org.

Kandinsky: A Retrospective Closes Sept 1; Museum Open on Labor Day

Original exhibition highlights significant works by Kandinsky
Celebrated retrospective closes September 1

Milwaukee, Wis. – Renowned as a painter, printmaker, watercolorist, theoretician, and Bauhaus teacher, Wassily Kandinsky’s prodigious accomplishments span almost all the major artistic movements of the first half of the twentieth century, a time of experimentation and innovation in art, conducted against the upheavals of a society entering the modern world. This extraordinary exhibition, Kandinsky: A Retrospective, closes on September 1.

The Museum will be open on Monday, September 1 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Kandinsky: A Retrospective is conceived by the Centre Pompidou, Paris, one of the major repositories of Kandinsky’s works, and organized together with the Milwaukee Art Museum. It is co-curated by Angela Lampe, the Curator of Modern Art at the Centre Pompidou, and Brady Roberts, Chief Curator at the Milwaukee Art Museum.

The exhibition follows the artist through several decades to reveal in five chapters every one of Kandinsky’s creative periods, moving from his native Russia to turn-of-the-century Munich and Murnau, Germany, awash with bold ideas. From there the exhibition returns to revolutionary Russia, before exploring the heady intellectual world of the German Bauhaus, and finally, the dynamic art world of Paris before and during World War II.

The centerpiece of the exhibition is the reconstruction of an extraordinary lounge Kandinsky created for the 1922 Juryfreie exhibition in Berlin. Made of large scale mural panels, the lounge was meant as a total environment to immerse the viewer in a complete aesthetic experience. It thus predates and anticipates the development of artistic installations and environments later in the century. These murals, reconstructed in 1977 under the supervision of his widow Nina Kandinsky for the opening of the Centre Pompidou, are presented in the United States for the first time at the Milwaukee Art Museum.

From Art Nouveau’s sinuous, organic forms, to Fauvism and Blaue Reiter’s shocking colors, to Kandinsky’s signature, deeply spiritual abstraction, to the mysteries of Surrealism to the constructivism of the Bauhaus period and the biomorphic forms of the thirties — Kandinsky experienced it all and led the way to the invention of radical new forms of modern art.

The exhibition features over eighty works and documents drawn from the world famous Kandinsky collection of the Centre Pompidou which has one outstanding particularity: nearly all of these works belonged to the artist himself and have been given by his widow Nina Kandinsky to the French State. It allows the visitor the unique opportunity to discover an exhibition made with Kandinsky’s favorite works, those he kept with him all his life.

The selection is enriched by the exceptional German Expressionist holdings at the Milwaukee Art Museum. A number of paintings from the Bradley Collection will add a complementary art historical dimension to the narrative. The works of Kandinsky’s Munich peers from Milwaukee’s collections will provide rich artistic visual dialogues for visitors. Dazzling works by Alex Jawlensky, August Macke, and Marianne Werefkin, in addition to the Museum’s world-renowned holdings by Kandinsky’s lover and colleague, Gabriele Münter, will gain a new depth from their proximity to her one-time teacher. Two major loans from the Guggenheim Museum and the Walker Art Center will complete this stunning journey through Kandinsky’s career.

“The Milwaukee Art Museum is proud to be the premier venue for Kandinsky: A Retrospective. This exhibition celebrates one of the key figures in Modern art by showcasing two extraordinary institutions: the exhaustive collections of works by the artist in the Centre Pompidou; and the superb work of the related Blaue Reiter artists in the Mrs. Harry Lynde Bradley Collection at the Milwaukee Art Museum,” said Daniel Keegan, director of the Milwaukee Art Museum. “This international collaboration tells the story of some of the most dynamic and influential modern art created in the first half of the twentieth century.”

A major catalogue distributed by Yale University Press  accompanies the exhibition, offering new insights on Kandinsky’s Bauhaus murals.

Kandinsky: A Retrospective will be on view at the Milwaukee Art Museum from June 5 through September 1, 2014 and is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities, with additional support provided by Associated Bank, Christie’s, and the Milwaukee Art Museum’s Friends of Art. After its presentation in Milwaukee, the exhibition will travel to the Frist Center for the Visual Arts in Nashville, Tennessee.

HOURS AND ADMISSION
The Museum is open Tuesday–Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Thursdays until 8 p.m. Admission is $17 for adults; $14 for students, seniors, and active military; and free for Members and for children age 12 and under. The Museum is open Mondays from Memorial Day through Labor Day, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The first Thursday of each month is Target Free First Thursday and admission is free for individuals (does not apply to groups).

ABOUT MILWAUKEE ART MUSEUM
The Milwaukee Art Museum houses a rich collection of over 30,000 works, with strengths in 19th- and 20th-century American and European art, contemporary art, American decorative arts, and is the world’s leading repository for work by untrained creators. The Museum campus is located on the shores of Lake Michigan and spans three buildings, including the Santiago Calatrava-designed Quadracci Pavilion and the Eero Saarinen-designed Milwaukee County War Memorial Center. For more information, please visit mam.org.

ABOUT CENTRE POMPIDOU
In its thirty five-year existence, the Centre Pompidou has established itself as one of the world’s foremost institutions in the field of modern and contemporary art. With over 100,000 works its collection of 20th and 21st century art ranks among the finest in the world. The Centre Pompidou is also home to Europe’s largest public reading library, and produces around 25 temporary exhibitions each year, together with an acclaimed programming of performances, film, lectures and talks. The Centre Pompidou is the third most visited site in France after the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower, and has welcomed over 200 million visitors since its opening in 1977, including 6 million people in 2013. The Centre Pompidou stands in the historic center of Paris in one of the most spectacular buildings of 20th-century architecture. Designed by Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers – both Pritzker Prize laureates– this bold structure, instantly familiar with its characteristic multicoloured pipes, now stands as an icon of modern architecture and a feat of engineering.

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Free Museum Admission on August 7

Free admission to the Milwaukee Art Museum on August 7
Public can see Kandinsky: A Retrospective for free

Milwaukee, Wis. – The Milwaukee Art Museum’s next monthly Target Free First Thursday is set for Thursday, August 7, 2014. Admission is free for all individuals, and includes access to Kandinsky: A Retrospective.

“We are thrilled to be able to offer this opportunity to our visitors,” said Museum director Daniel Keegan. “The Museum’s feature exhibition, Kandinsky, includes over 100 works by this modern master, many of which are on loan from the Centre Pompidou in Paris and have never been seen in the U.S. before.”

Also on view is Postcards from America: Milwaukee, a photography exhibition featuring the work of eleven Magnum photographers, Bruce Gilden, Jim Goldberg, Susan Meiselas, Martin Parr, Paolo Pellegrin, Mark Power, Alessandra Sanguinetti, Jacob Aue Sobol, Alec Soth, Zoe Strauss, and Donovan Wylie, who visited Wisconsin between August 2013 and April 2014. Interested in collaboration and experimentation, these exciting artists share their distinctive perspectives on subjects ranging from the State Fair and highway infrastructure to students in Black River Falls and women laborers.

Target Free First Thursdays provides all Museum visitors with free admission on the first Thursday of each month. The Museum is open Thursday, August 7  from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Future Target Free First Thursday dates include September 4, 2014.

“At Target, our local grants are making a difference in the communities we serve,” said Laysha Ward, president, community relations, Target. “We’re proud to partner with the Milwaukee Art Museum as part of our ongoing commitment to give back to the communities where our guests and team members live and work.”

ABOUT THE MUSEUM
The Milwaukee Art Museum houses a rich collection of over 30,000 works, with strengths in 19th- and 20th-century American and European art, contemporary art, American decorative arts, and is the world’s leading repository for work by untrained creators. The Museum campus is located on the shores of Lake Michigan and spans three buildings, including the Santiago Calatrava-designed Quadracci Pavilion and the Eero Saarinen-designed Milwaukee County War Memorial Center. For more information, please visit mam.org.

ABOUT TARGET
Minneapolis-based Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) serves guests at 1,740 stores in 49 states nationwide and at Target.com. Target is committed to providing a fun and convenient shopping experience with access to unique and highly differentiated products at affordable prices. Since 1946, the corporation has given 5 percent of its income through community grants and programs like Take Charge of Education. Today, that giving equals more than $3 million a week.

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Free Museum Admission on Thursday, July 3

Free admission to the Milwaukee Art Museum on July 3
Public can see Kandinsky: A Retrospective for free

Milwaukee, Wis. – The Milwaukee Art Museum’s next monthly Target Free First Thursday is set for Thursday, July 3, 2014. Admission is free for all individuals, and includes access to Kandinsky: A Retrospective.

“We are thrilled to be able to offer this opportunity to our visitors,” said Museum director Daniel Keegan. “The Museum’s feature exhibition, Kandinsky, includes over 100 works by this modern master, many of which are on loan from the Centre Pompidou in Paris and have never been seen in the U.S. before.”

Target Free First Thursdays provides all Museum visitors with free admission on the first Thursday of each month. The Museum is open Thursday, July 3 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Future Target Free First Thursday dates include August 7 and September 4, 2014.

“At Target, our local grants are making a difference in the communities we serve,” said Laysha Ward, president, community relations, Target. “We’re proud to partner with the Milwaukee Art Museum as part of our ongoing commitment to give back to the communities where our guests and team members live and work.”

ABOUT THE MUSEUM
The Milwaukee Art Museum houses a rich collection of over 30,000 works, with strengths in 19th- and 20th-century American and European art, contemporary art, American decorative arts, and is the world’s leading repository for work by untrained creators. The Museum campus is located on the shores of Lake Michigan and spans three buildings, including the Santiago Calatrava-designed Quadracci Pavilion and the Eero Saarinen-designed Milwaukee County War Memorial Center. For more information, please visit mam.org.

ABOUT TARGET
Minneapolis-based Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) serves guests at 1,740 stores in 49 states nationwide and at Target.com. Target is committed to providing a fun and convenient shopping experience with access to unique and highly differentiated products at affordable prices. Since 1946, the corporation has given 5 percent of its income through community grants and programs like Take Charge of Education. Today, that giving equals more than $3 million a week.

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Free Museum Admission for Vets, Active Military All Summer Long

FREE MUSEUM ADMISSION FOR VETERANS, ACTIVE MILITARY BEGINS ON MEMORIAL DAY
Veterans, Active Military free all summer long

Milwaukee, Wis. – The Milwaukee Art Museum is offering free admission for all veterans and active military (with ID), and up to five additional family members beginning on Monday, May 26 and running through Monday, September 1.

This summer, the Museum is again participating in the Blue Star Museums program, where active military and up to five family members with them receive free Museum admission from Memorial Day through Labor Day. First launched in 2010, Blue Star Museums is a collaboration among the National Endowment for the Arts, Blue Star Families, the Department of Defense, and more than 2,000 museums across America.

Starting Memorial Day (May 26) and running through Labor Day (Sept 1), the Museum is open seven days a week, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (until 8 p.m. on Thursdays). The Museum’s summer feature exhibition, Kandinsky: A Retrospective, opens June 5.
ABOUT MILWAUKEE ART MUSEUM
The Milwaukee Art Museum houses a rich collection of over 30,000 works, with strengths in 19th- and 20th-century American and European art, contemporary art, and American decorative arts, and is the world’s leading repository for work by untrained creators. The Museum campus is located on the shores of Lake Michigan and spans three buildings, including the Santiago Calatrava-designed Quadracci Pavilion and the Eero Saarinen-designed Milwaukee County War Memorial Center. For more information, please visit mam.org.

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Lakefront Festival of Art Opens June 20

THE MILWAUKEE ART MUSEUM ANNOUNCES 2014 LAKEFRONT FESTIVAL OF ART
Quad/Graphics and Milwaukee Magazine present annual arts showcase marking 52nd year

MILWAUKEE – (May 8, 2014) – The Milwaukee Art Museum’s 2014 Lakefront Festival of Art (LFOA) celebrates its 52nd year this summer. The Festival, which features more than 175 artists, opens on the grounds of the Museum Friday, June 20 and runs through Sunday, June 22. The 2014 Festival is presented by Quad/Graphics and Milwaukee Magazine and is one of the top twenty art festivals in the country as recognized by Art Fair Sourcebook.

In addition to the variety of artists’ booths, including jewelers, painters, sculptors, photographers and more, LFOA offers family-friendly activities, such as live music, refreshments and the PNC Children’s Experience, featuring drama performances and hands-on art projects designed especially for kids of all ages.

For adult audiences, gourmet food will be available as well as libations at both the Milwaukee Magazine Wine Garden, which sits beneath the world-famous Calatrava-designed Burke Brise Soleil, and the Blue Moon Beer sampling area. While enjoying refreshments, attendees can peruse a sculpture garden created by Hawks Landscape or bid on donated pieces of art at the silent auction, which closes Sunday, June 22.

“Lakefront Festival of Art is one of the most popular events at the Museum each and every year,” said Krista Renfrew, Director of Special Events, Milwaukee Art Museum. “With world-class art, the wine garden, the children’s area, live entertainment, access to the Museum’s galleries, and Lakefront Late Night, there’s something for everyone.”

Funds raised from LFOA support the Museum’s world-class exhibitions including the summer’s feature exhibition, Kandinsky: A Retrospective, which showcases 100 works of art from modern master Wassily Kandinsky. Curated in partnership with the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the exhibition is a must-see for any art lover. Access to Kandinsky: A Retrospective is included with LFOA admission.

“Over the past 50 years, the proceeds from LFOA have helped the Museum acquire more than 250 new works of art and supported countless exhibitions,” said Daniel Keegan, Director of the Milwaukee Art Museum. “We are deeply grateful to the Friends of Art for their continued efforts to support the Museum, and I am looking forward to this year’s event.”

HOURS AND ADMISSION

• Friday, June 20 from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
• Saturday, June 21 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• Sunday, June 22 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Advance tickets $10
• Adults $17; Seniors/Students $14
• Museum Members $10
• Free for kids age 12 and under, veterans, active military, and Wisconsin K-12 teachers (with ID)

Tickets, which include admission to the Art Museum, can be purchased online at lfoa.mam.org and at participating locations throughout Southeastern Wisconsin. For those looking to explore the festival throughout the weekend, a $25 three-day pass will also be available at the festival gates and online.

Lakefront Festival of Art is presented by Milwaukee Magazine and Quad/Graphics, with additional support generously provided by PNC Financial Services Group, Baker Tilly, Blue Moon, Hawks Landscape, Schlossmann Auto Group, Potawatomi Bingo Casino, Pick ‘n Save, ShopKeep POS, Danny Vegh’s, Adelman Travel Group, 88.9 Radio Milwaukee, OnMilwaukee.com, and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Nelson Schmidt Inc. The event is dedicated to the memory of Betty Quadracci, Milwaukee business owner and philanthropist, and a longtime Museum donor, supporter, and Board of Trustees Member.

ABOUT LAKEFRONT FESTIVAL OF ART
The Lakefront Festival of Art (LFOA) is one of the premier art festivals in the country, featuring artists from across the nation with art for sale in a variety of media, including paintings, sculptures, jewelry, photography, printmaking, wood, ceramics, fiber, and more. Since 1963, the Lakefront Festival of Art has been a primary fundraiser for the Milwaukee Art Museum and organized with the help of Friends of Art volunteers. For more information on LFOA, please visit lfoa.mam.org.

ABOUT MILWAUKEE ART MUSEUM
Having celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2013, the Milwaukee Art Museum houses a rich collection of over 30,000 works, with strengths in 19th- and 20th-century American and European art, contemporary art, American decorative arts, and folk and self-taught art. The Museum campus is located on the shores of Lake Michigan and spans three buildings, including the Santiago Calatrava-designed Quadracci Pavilion and the Eero Saarinen-designed Milwaukee County War Memorial Center. For more information, please visit mam.org.

ABOUT FRIENDS OF ART
The Friends of Art (FOA) is the primary volunteer support organization of the Milwaukee Art Museum. FOA raises funds in support of the Museum and develops activities to stimulate visual art appreciation and inspire volunteer leadership. Over 1,300 individuals volunteer annually to help organize and operate FOA’s fundraising events. Over $7 million has been generated through FOA events since it was founded in 1957. For more information on FOA, please visit www.mam.org/involved/details/foa.php.

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Milwaukee Art Museum Hires New Curator of American and Decorative Arts

Milwaukee Art Museum announces new Curator of American and Decorative Arts

Milwaukee, Wis. – April 9, 2014 – The Milwaukee Art Museum is pleased to announce the appointment of Brandon Ruud as the new Constance and Dudley J. Godfrey Jr. Curator of American Art and Decorative Arts. Ruud will join the Museum from the Sheldon Museum of Art, University of Nebraska—Lincoln where he has served as the Curator of American Art since 2010 and just completed a series of permanent collection catalogs.

Ruud’s twenty year museum career includes the Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha, Nebraska where he began as Assistant Curator in 1998 and worked on a major reinstallation of their American collection, and the Art Institute of Chicago, where he was Assistant Research Curator of American Art for five years. He also worked on the Art Institute’s reinstallation of the American collection before joining the Sheldon Museum of Art.

He has organized dozens of exhibitions, including Apostles of Beauty: Arts and Crafts from Britain to Chicago at the Art Institute (2009) and A Faithful and Vivid Picture: Karl Bodmer’s North American Prints at the Joslyn Art Museum (2002). His subsequent publication, Karl Bodmer’s North American Prints, was awarded a Notable Book of the Year by the New York Times in 2005.

“Brandon brings a wealth of expertise and experience to this important position at the Museum, and he impressed everyone here with his passion for American art and his reinstallation experience,” said Brady Roberts, chief curator for the Milwaukee Art Museum.

Ruud holds a B.A., magna cum laude, from the Department of History at the University of West Florida, and a M.A. from the Department of Art and Art History from George Washington University. He is completing his doctoral dissertation on American art at the University of Illinois, Chicago.

“I am honored to join the Milwaukee Art Museum as the new Constance and Dudley J. Godfrey, Jr. Curator of American Art and Decorative Arts,” said Ruud. “As a ten-year resident of Chicago, I frequently visited Milwaukee, and the Museum was a must-stop during those visits. I have long admired the Museum and its collections, feature exhibitions, and programs, and I am thrilled to join the Museum at this exciting moment to participate in the upcoming reinstallation of the American collection.”

Ruud will begin working at the Milwaukee Art Museum later this month.

ABOUT THE MUSEUM
The Milwaukee Art Museum houses a rich collection of over 30,000 works, with strengths in 19th- and 20th-century American and European art, contemporary art, and American decorative arts, and is the world’s leading repository for work by untrained creators. The Museum campus is located on the shores of Lake Michigan and spans three buildings, including the Santiago Calatrava-designed Quadracci Pavilion and the Eero Saarinen-designed Milwaukee County War Memorial Center. For more information, please visit mam.org.

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Milwaukee Art Museum Announces Its Plan For The Future Campaign

Milwaukee Art Museum announces its Plan for the Future Campaign
Restoration and reinstallation will re-imagine the Collection galleries

Milwaukee, Wis. – April 7, 2014 – After two years of negotiations and planning, the Milwaukee Art Museum has announced its Plan for the Future, a comprehensive public campaign to restore the War Memorial and Kahler buildings and reinstall the Museum’s galleries. The Plan for the Future is part of the Museum’s $15 million commitment to the $25 million project in partnership with Milwaukee County.

“In spring of 2013, Milwaukee County made a generous $10 million contribution toward repairing the Saarinen and Kahler buildings, which house the Museum’s Collection galleries. Thanks to this support, the damage that has accumulated over the years will be fixed,” said Daniel Keegan, Museum director. “In partnership with the County, and in recognition of our role in the community, the Museum pledged to raise an additional $15 million to make repairs, renovations associated with the restoration of the buildings and the reinstallation of the collections. We are pleased to have already received significant support toward our goal, and are now in the final stages of fundraising.”

The Museum will be asking for public donations as part of its campaign.

“Public support of our initiative to restore the state’s most significant war memorial, as well as protect its most important art collection, is key,” said Keegan. “We want our visitors, supporters, and neighbors to know that they are integral to the success of the Museum. The Milwaukee Art Museum is a community treasure, and the Plan for the Future will reinvigorate the galleries and the Collection itself, making the Museum more accessible for tourists and visitors.”

The Plan for the Future will:
• Improve the environment for visitors and provide a safe home for the over 30,000 works of art in the Museum’s world-class Collection by repairing the Saarinen building and Kahler addition, after decades of deferred maintenance.
• Make it possible for more art to be on view to the public by significantly increasing gallery space.
• With the addition of a new lakeside entrance, establish easier public access to the Museum, the Collection, and a critical exhibition gallery—thereby providing a better visitor experience.
• Re-imagine how visitors approach the Collection and experience the art, through significant changes to the presentation of the art and a more intuitive layout.
• Conserve energy and improve the lighting of the art, with the installation of new LED bulbs throughout the Museum’s galleries.
• Add bathrooms on every level.

“As we begin this restoration process, I want to stress that the Museum remains open throughout the year. Most programs, events, tours, and activities, including Lakefront Festival of Art, MAM After Dark, Yoga, and Art in Bloom, will continue while the galleries are under repair,” said Keegan. “We have a stellar lineup of exhibitions for the Quadracci Pavilion that our visitors will not want to miss.”

Repairs and restorations to the Milwaukee County War Memorial and the Milwaukee Art Museum are set to begin in the fall. A leaky roof, mold infiltration, a failed HVAC system, broken concrete, leaking windows, and foundation seepage are among the problems to be remedied.

ABOUT MILWAUKEE ART MUSEUM
The Milwaukee Art Museum houses a rich collection of over 30,000 works, with strengths in 19th- and 20th-century American and European art, contemporary art, and American decorative arts, and is the world’s leading repository for work by untrained creators. The Museum campus is located on the shores of Lake Michigan and spans three buildings, including the Santiago Calatrava-designed Quadracci Pavilion and the Eero Saarinen-designed Milwaukee County War Memorial Center. For more information, please visit mam.org.

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Free Museum Admission on May 1

Free admission to the Milwaukee Art Museum on May 1
Last chance to experience Uncommon Folk: Traditions in American Art for free

Milwaukee, Wis. – The Milwaukee Art Museum’s next monthly Target Free First Thursday is set for Thursday, May 1, 2014. Admission is free for all individuals, and includes access to the entire museum, including the nearly six hundred objects on display in Uncommon Folk: Traditions in American Art.

“We are thrilled to be able to offer this opportunity to our visitors,” said Museum director Daniel Keegan. “The Museum’s feature exhibition, Uncommon Folk, includes almost six hundred works from the Museum’s permanent collection. From duck decoys to quilts to walking sticks to the work of Grandma Moses, this whimsical exhibition has something for everyone.”

Target Free First Thursdays provides all Museum visitors with free admission on the first Thursday of each month. The Museum is open Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Future Target Free First Thursday dates include June 5 and July 3, 2014.

“At Target, our local grants are making a difference in the communities we serve,” said Laysha Ward, president, community relations, Target. “We’re proud to partner with the Milwaukee Art Museum as part of our ongoing commitment to give back to the communities where our guests and team members live and work.”

ABOUT THE MUSEUM
The Milwaukee Art Museum houses a rich collection of over 30,000 works, with strengths in 19th- and 20th-century American and European art, contemporary art, American decorative arts, and is the world’s leading repository for work by untrained creators. The Museum campus is located on the shores of Lake Michigan and spans three buildings, including the Santiago Calatrava-designed Quadracci Pavilion and the Eero Saarinen-designed Milwaukee County War Memorial Center. For more information, please visit mam.org.

ABOUT TARGET
Minneapolis-based Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) serves guests at 1,740 stores in 49 states nationwide and at Target.com. Target is committed to providing a fun and convenient shopping experience with access to unique and highly differentiated products at affordable prices. Since 1946, the corporation has given 5 percent of its income through community grants and programs like Take Charge of Education. Today, that giving equals more than $3 million a week.

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Free Museum Admission on Thursday, April 3

Free admission to the Milwaukee Art Museum on April 3
Experience Uncommon Folk: Traditions in American Art for free

Milwaukee, Wis. – The Milwaukee Art Museum’s next monthly Target Free First Thursday is set for Thursday, April 3, 2014. Admission is free for all individuals, and includes access to the entire museum, including the nearly six hundred objects on display in Uncommon Folk: Traditions in American Art.

“We are thrilled to be able to offer this opportunity to our visitors,” said Museum director Daniel Keegan. “The Museum’s feature exhibition, Uncommon Folk, includes almost six hundred works from the Museum’s permanent collection. From duck decoys to quilts to walking sticks to the work of Grandma Moses, this whimsical exhibition has something for everyone.”

Target Free First Thursdays provides all Museum visitors with free admission on the first Thursday of each month. The Museum is open Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Future Target Free First Thursday dates include May 1 and June 5, 2014.

“At Target, our local grants are making a difference in the communities we serve,” said Laysha Ward, president, community relations, Target. “We’re proud to partner with the Milwaukee Art Museum as part of our ongoing commitment to give back to the communities where our guests and team members live and work.”

ABOUT THE MUSEUM
The Milwaukee Art Museum houses a rich collection of over 30,000 works, with strengths in 19th- and 20th-century American and European art, contemporary art, American decorative arts, and is the world’s leading repository for work by untrained creators. The Museum campus is located on the shores of Lake Michigan and spans three buildings, including the Santiago Calatrava-designed Quadracci Pavilion and the Eero Saarinen-designed Milwaukee County War Memorial Center. For more information, please visit mam.org.

ABOUT TARGET
Minneapolis-based Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) serves guests at 1,740 stores in 49 states nationwide and at Target.com. Target is committed to providing a fun and convenient shopping experience with access to unique and highly differentiated products at affordable prices. Since 1946, the corporation has given 5 percent of its income through community grants and programs like Take Charge of Education. Today, that giving equals more than $3 million a week.

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Partnership With Centre Pompidou Brings Masterworks to Milwaukee

Original exhibition highlights significant works by Kandinsky
Partnership with Centre Pompidou brings masterworks to Milwaukee

Milwaukee, Wis. – Renowned as a painter, printmaker, watercolorist, theoretician, and Bauhaus teacher, Wassily Kandinsky’s prodigious accomplishments span almost all the major artistic movements of the first half of the twentieth century, a time of experimentation and innovation in art, conducted against the upheavals of a society entering the modern world. Beginning Thursday, June 5, 2014, the Milwaukee Art Museum will present a major retrospective of this modern master, side by side with his contemporaries in the Blaue Reiter movement.

Kandinsky: A Retrospective is conceived by the Centre Pompidou, Paris, one of the major repositories of Kandinsky’s works, and organized together with the Milwaukee Art Museum. It is co-curated by Angela Lampe, the Curator of Modern Art at the Centre Pompidou, and Brady Roberts, Chief Curator at the Milwaukee Art Museum.

The centerpiece of the exhibition will be the reconstruction of an extraordinary lounge Kandinsky created for the 1922 Juryfreie exhibition in Berlin. Made of large scale mural panels, the lounge was meant as a total environment to immerse the viewer in a complete aesthetic experience. It thus predates and anticipates the development of artistic installations and environments later in the century. These murals, reconstructed in 1977 under the supervision of his widow Nina Kandinsky for the opening of the Centre Pompidou, will be presented in the United States for the first time at the Milwaukee Art Museum.

The exhibition follows the artist through several decades to reveal in five chapters every one of Kandinsky’s creative periods, moving from his native Russia to turn-of-the-century Munich and Murnau, Germany, awash with bold ideas. From there the exhibition returns to revolutionary Russia, before exploring the heady intellectual world of the German Bauhaus, and finally, the dynamic art world of Paris before and during World War II.

From Art Nouveau’s sinuous, organic forms, to Fauvism and Blaue Reiter’s shocking colors, to Kandinsky’s signature, deeply spiritual abstraction, to the mysteries of Surrealism to the constructivism of the Bauhaus period and the biomorphic forms of the thirties —Kandinsky experienced it all led the way to the invention of radical new forms of modern art.

The exhibition features over eighty works and documents drawn from the world famous Kandinsky collection of the Centre Pompidou which has one outstanding particularity: nearly all of these works belonged to the artist himself and have been given by his widow Nina Kandinsky to the French State. It allows the visitor the unique opportunity to discover an exhibition made with Kandinsky’s favorite works, those he kept with him all his life.

The selection is enriched by the exceptional German Expressionist holdings at the Milwaukee Art Museum. A number of paintings from the Bradley Collection will add a complementary art historical dimension to the narrative. The works of Kandinsky’s Munich peers from Milwaukee’s collections will provide rich artistic visual dialogues for visitors. Dazzling works by Alex Jawlensky, August Macke, and Marianne Werefkin, in addition to the Museum’s world-renowned holdings by Kandinsky’s lover and colleague, Gabriele Münter, will gain a new depth from their proximity to her one-time teacher. Two major loans from the Guggenheim Museum and the Walker Art Center will complete this stunning journey through Kandinsky’s career.

“The Milwaukee Art Museum is proud to be the premier venue for Kandinsky: A Retrospective. This exhibition celebrates one of the key figures in Modern art by showcasing two extraordinary institutions: the exhaustive collections of works by the artist in the Centre Pompidou; and the superb work of the related Blaue Reiter artists in the Mrs. Harry Lynde Bradley Collection at the Milwaukee Art Museum,” said Daniel Keegan, director of the Milwaukee Art Museum. “This international collaboration tells the story of some of the most dynamic and influential modern art created in the first half of the twentieth century.”

A major catalogue distributed by Yale University Press will accompany the exhibition, offering new insights on Kandinsky’s Bauhaus murals.

Kandinsky: A Retrospective will be on view at the Milwaukee Art Museum from June 5 through September 1, 2014 and is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities, with additional support provided by Associated Bank, Christie’s, and the Milwaukee Art Museum’s Friends of Art. After its presentation in Milwaukee, the exhibition will travel to the Frist Center for the Visual Arts in Nashville, Tennessee.

HOURS AND ADMISSION
The Museum is open Tuesday–Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Thursdays until 8 p.m. Admission is $17 for adults; $14 for students, seniors, and active military; and free for Members and for children age 12 and under.

The Museum is open Mondays from Memorial Day through Labor Day, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The first Thursday of each month is Target Free First Thursday and admission is free for individuals (does not apply to groups).

ABOUT MILWAUKEE ART MUSEUM
The Milwaukee Art Museum houses a rich collection of over 30,000 works, with strengths in 19th- and 20th-century American and European art, contemporary art, American decorative arts, and is the world’s leading repository for work by untrained creators. The Museum campus is located on the shores of Lake Michigan and spans three buildings, including the Santiago Calatrava-designed Quadracci Pavilion and the Eero Saarinen-designed Milwaukee County War Memorial Center. For more information, please visit mam.org.

ABOUT CENTRE POMPIDOU
In its thirty five-year existence, the Centre Pompidou has established itself as one of the world’s foremost institutions in the field of modern and contemporary art. With over 100,000 works its collection of 20th and 21st century art ranks among the finest in the world. The Centre Pompidou is also home to Europe’s largest public reading library, and produces around 25 temporary exhibitions each year, together with an acclaimed programming of performances, film, lectures and talks. The Centre Pompidou is the third most visited site in France after the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower, and has welcomed over 200 million visitors since its opening in 1977, including 6 million people in 2013.

The Centre Pompidou stands in the historic center of Paris in one of the most spectacular buildings of 20th-century architecture. Designed by Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers – both Pritzker Prize laureates– this bold structure, instantly familiar with its characteristic multicoloured pipes, now stands as an icon of modern architecture and a feat of engineering.

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Free Museum Admission on Thursday, March 6

Free admission to the Milwaukee Art Museum on March 6
Public can see Uncommon Folk: Traditions in American Art for free

Milwaukee, Wis. – The Milwaukee Art Museum’s next monthly Target Free First Thursday is set for Thursday, March 6, 2014. Admission is free for all individuals, and includes access to the nearly six hundred objects on display in Uncommon Folk: Traditions in American Art.

“We are thrilled to be able to offer this opportunity to our visitors,” said Museum director Daniel Keegan. “The Museum’s feature exhibition, Uncommon Folk, includes almost six hundred works from the Museum’s permanent collection. From duck decoys to quilts to walking sticks to the work of Grandma Moses, this whimsical exhibition has something for everyone.”

Also on view is Flow: The 2014 NCECA Ceramic Arts Invitational, an exhibition of twenty installations of ceramics, some of which contain over a thousand pieces. Two of the works are site-specific, meaning they were designed for and will only be seen at, the Milwaukee Art Museum. The National NCECA Convention is slated for the Wisconsin Center later in the month.

Visitors can also see the Scholastic Art Awards – Wisconsin installation before it closes on March 16.

Target Free First Thursdays provides all Museum visitors with free admission on the first Thursday of each month. The Museum is open Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Future Target Free First Thursday dates include April 3, May 1, and June 5, 2014.

“At Target, our local grants are making a difference in the communities we serve,” said Laysha Ward, president, community relations, Target. “We’re proud to partner with the Milwaukee Art Museum as part of our ongoing commitment to give back to the communities where our guests and team members live and work.”

ABOUT THE MUSEUM
The Milwaukee Art Museum houses a rich collection of over 30,000 works, with strengths in 19th- and 20th-century American and European art, contemporary art, American decorative arts, and is the world’s leading repository for work by untrained creators. The Museum campus is located on the shores of Lake Michigan and spans three buildings, including the Santiago Calatrava-designed Quadracci Pavilion and the Eero Saarinen-designed Milwaukee County War Memorial Center. For more information, please visit mam.org.

ABOUT TARGET
Minneapolis-based Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) serves guests at 1,740 stores in 49 states nationwide and at Target.com. Target is committed to providing a fun and convenient shopping experience with access to unique and highly differentiated products at affordable prices. Since 1946, the corporation has given 5 percent of its income through community grants and programs like Take Charge of Education. Today, that giving equals more than $3 million a week.

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Art in Bloom Returns March 27-30

Spring finally retruns to Milwaukee March 27–30
Art in Bloom returns with bright colors, beautiful bouquets

Milwaukee, Wis.Uncommon Folk: Traditions in American Art serves up inspiration for “Art in Bloom,” the annual tribute to art and flowers at the Milwaukee Art Museum, March 27–30, 2014.

Presented by PNC, “Art in Bloom” brings together over 40 gardening, floral arranging, and landscape designers from across the region, inspired by the art beneath the wings of the Museum and throughout the Galleries. The event also includes lectures, seminars, and activities for both experienced and novice gardeners.

“’Art in Bloom’ is a festive community event that not only immerses you in beauty, but also provides you with an opportunity to enhance your floral and gardening know-how,” said Daniel Keegan, director of the Milwaukee Art Museum. “This is one of the most beautiful, family-friendly events at the Museum. I encourage everyone to take in the sights and smells of ‘Art in Bloom’ this year.”

In addition to daily lectures and programs around gardening and horticulture, the event includes a marketplace for shopping, a wine tent, and children’s activities in the Kohl’s Education Center.

A complete schedule of lectures, events, and ticket information can be found at mam.org/bloom. Daily Museum admission is $17 adult/$5 Member, Thursday through Sunday. As always, children age 12 and under receive free admission. Programs requiring tickets and reservations are noted.

Daily Events, Thursday–Sunday, March 27–30
• Collection galleries open with artwork-inspired floral displays
• Marketplace open with gifts and accessories for your home and garden
• People’s Choice Awards voting
• Café Calatrava, the Coffee Shop, the Windhover Hall Garden Room, and Milaeger’s Outdoor Garden Tent open for food and refreshments
• Drop-in docent-led tours at 10:15 am, noon, 2 pm

ABOUT THE MUSEUM
The Milwaukee Art Museum houses a rich collection of over 30,000 works, with strengths in 19th- and 20th-century American and European art, contemporary art, American decorative arts, and is the world’s leading repository for work by untrained creators. The Museum campus is located on the shores of Lake Michigan and spans three buildings, including the Santiago Calatrava-designed Quadracci Pavilion and the Eero Saarinen-designed Milwaukee County War Memorial Center. For more information, please visit mam.org.

FREE Museum Admission on Thursday, February 6

Free admission to the Milwaukee Art Museum on February 6
First chance to see Uncommon Folk: Traditions in American Art for free

Milwaukee, Wis. – The Milwaukee Art Museum’s next monthly Target Free First Thursday is set for Thursday, February 6, 2014. Admission is free for all individuals, and it is the public’s first free opportunity to see nearly six hundred objects on display in Uncommon Folk: Traditions in American Art.

“We are thrilled to be able to offer this opportunity to our visitors,” said Museum director Daniel Keegan. “The Museum’s feature exhibition, Uncommon Folk, includes almost six hundred works from the Museum’s permanent collection. From duck decoys to quilts to walking sticks to the work of Grandma Moses, this whimsical exhibition has something for everyone.”

Also on view is the latest in the Currents series. Best known for his exquisite depictions of crashed cars, Currents 36: Dirk Skreber  includes several of the artist’s large-scale paintings, a monumental outdoor sculpture, and the American museum debut of his video work Turgidity (2012).

Target Free First Thursdays provides all Museum visitors with free admission on the first Thursday of each month. The Museum is open Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Future Target Free First Thursday dates include March 6 and April 3, 2014.

“At Target, our local grants are making a difference in the communities we serve,” said Laysha Ward, president, community relations, Target. “We’re proud to partner with the Milwaukee Art Museum as part of our ongoing commitment to give back to the communities where our guests and team members live and work.”

ABOUT THE MUSEUM
The Milwaukee Art Museum houses a rich collection of over 30,000 works, with strengths in 19th- and 20th-century American and European art, contemporary art, American decorative arts, and is the world’s leading repository for work by untrained creators. The Museum campus is located on the shores of Lake Michigan and spans three buildings, including the Santiago Calatrava-designed Quadracci Pavilion and the Eero Saarinen-designed Milwaukee County War Memorial Center. For more information, please visit mam.org.

ABOUT TARGET
Minneapolis-based Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) serves guests at 1,740 stores in 49 states nationwide and at Target.com. Target is committed to providing a fun and convenient shopping experience with access to unique and highly differentiated products at affordable prices. Since 1946, the corporation has given 5 percent of its income through community grants and programs like Take Charge of Education. Today, that giving equals more than $3 million a week.

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Postcards From America: Milwaukee Now On View at Milwaukee Art Museum

Postcards from America: Milwaukee presents 11 distinct photographic visions of Wisconsin
Artists respond to State Fair, Miller Park, Black River Falls

Milwaukee, Wis. – The Milwaukee Art Museum is proud to present Postcards from America: Milwaukee, the first museum exhibition of photographs from the Postcards from America project, initiated by a group of photographers to foster artistic and intellectual collaboration. The exhibition, which features pictures of Milwaukee and surrounding communities, from State Fair to women laborers, opened July 10 in the Museum’s Contemporary Galleries.

The Postcards from America artists, by nature of their participation in Magnum Photos, the international photographic cooperative founded in 1947, share a common interest in going out into the world to make pictures. This project has taken them through the Southwest; over the mountains to Utah; to Rochester, New York; and to Florida during the last Presidential election. For this most recent iteration of the series, the Museum partnered with Bruce Gilden, Jim Goldberg, Susan Meiselas, Martin Parr, Paolo Pellegrin, Mark Power, Alessandra Sanguinetti, Jacob Aue Sobol, Alec Soth, Zoe Strauss, and Donovan Wylie. They visited the region in three stages from August, 2013 to April, 2014.

Drawing on the theme of the postcard, an informal souvenir sent from faraway places, the artists offer varied perspectives on the localities to which they travel, informed by their distinct histories, methods, and styles. The project fosters collaboration with each community it visits. In Milwaukee, students from the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee acted as assistants to the visiting artists, often connecting them with subjects and research.

“From Donovan Wylie’s investigation of Wisconsin’s highway infrastructure, to Martin Parr’s playful look at the
State Fair, the works featured in the exhibition reflect the artists’ individual interests and visions,” said Lisa Sutcliffe, curator of photography for the Milwaukee Art Museum. Subjects range from students in Black River Falls to women laborers, candidates at a casting call, and ‘Milwaukee’s Best’ citizens.

As a part of the project, a selection of pictures will enter the Museum’s Collection, creating a lasting record of their exploration of the region.

“Rather than defining Milwaukee or Wisconsin, the resulting pictures offer different responses to place, ultimately suggesting the subjective nature of photography,” said Sutcliffe. “Through its uncommon structure and emphasis on process, this project offers an opportunity to reconsider the responsibilities and capabilities of documentary style photography—and allows viewers to see the region anew, through the eyes of a diverse group of outsiders.”

Postcards from America: Milwaukee is generously supported at the Milwaukee Art Museum by the Herzfeld Foundation. Additional support provided by Milwaukee Art Museum Photography Council and Pier 24 Photography. The exhibition runs July 10–October 19, 2014.

HOURS AND ADMISSION
The Museum is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Thursdays until 8 p.m. Admission is $17 for adults; $14 for students and seniors; and free for Members, Veterans and Active Military (through Labor Day),  and for children age 12 and under.
The first Thursday of each month is Target Free First Thursday and admission is free for individuals (does not apply to groups).

ABOUT MILWAUKEE ART MUSEUM
The Milwaukee Art Museum houses a rich collection of over 30,000 works, with strengths in 19th- and 20th-century American and European art, contemporary art, American decorative arts, and is the world’s leading repository for work by untrained creators. The Museum campus is located on the shores of Lake Michigan and spans three buildings, including the Santiago Calatrava-designed Quadracci Pavilion and the Eero Saarinen-designed Milwaukee County War Memorial Center. For more information, please visit mam.org.

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