Milwaukee Art Museum’s Art:Forward Gala Raises $1.2 Million
The event features first public remarks from new Director Dr. Kim Sajet and includes a commendation from Governor Tony Evers.
MILWAUKEE, WI—September 24, 2025—Through the generosity of more than 300 guests at the Art:Forward Gala and the sponsors who have made the 50th anniversary exhibition and catalogue possible, the Milwaukee Art Museum raised $1.2 million in celebration of the Bradley Collection of Modern Art and its lasting legacy.
The Art:Forward Gala, held on September 20, 2025, commemorated the 50th anniversary of The Bradley Collection of Modern Art going on view to the public and brought together supporters, community leaders, and artists to celebrate this milestone in the Museum’s history. Gala guests were among the first to preview the new exhibition, The Bradley Collection of Modern Art: A Bold Vision for Milwaukee, which opens to the public on Friday, September 26, 2025.
The evening was the first public appearance of Dr. Kim Sajet, the Museum’s new Donna and Donald Baumgartner Director. In her remarks, Sajet reflected on the vital role museums play in civic life and outlined her vision for the Milwaukee Art Museum. She emphasized the importance of inspiring visitors from all backgrounds with meaningful connections to both the collection and special exhibitions, creating a place where people feel not only welcome, but energized.
“Pablo Picasso, who is represented in the Bradley Collection, once said that the purpose of art is to wash the dust of daily life off our souls. I’d like to build on that idea by suggesting that art’s true power lies not just in stepping away from the everyday, but in opening ourselves up to ideas we hadn’t considered, emotions we didn’t expect, and perspectives different from our own,” Sajet shared.
She also underscored her commitment to strengthening the Museum’s role as a vital partner in the Milwaukee community, working alongside government, businesses, educators, and nonprofits to foster cultural tourism and civic pride. She described her goal of positioning the Museum as a place of learning and empathy where encounters with real objects deepen understanding of history, broaden perspectives, and nurture a sense of shared humanity.
Finally, she spoke about celebrating artists and the creative spirit, continuing the Museum’s proud tradition of supporting artists at the beginning of their careers. By fostering innovation and presenting trailblazing programming, she noted, the Milwaukee Art Museum can set itself apart as a place where creativity in all its forms is championed and shared.
Adding to the evening’s significance, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers issued a written commendation recognizing the Museum’s service to the state and celebrating 50 years of the Bradley Collection of Modern Art being on view to the public.
“On behalf of the State of Wisconsin, I am pleased to commend the Milwaukee Art Museum for its years of dedicated service to the state and congratulate the institution on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of The Bradley Collection of Modern Art going on view to the public.”
The commendation noted the extraordinary legacy of Peg Bradley’s 1975 gift of more than 400 modern and contemporary masterpieces, calling the collection “a cornerstone of the Museum’s vast collection” and praising its ongoing role in fostering community connection through art and philanthropy.
Exhibition Details
The Bradley Collection of Modern Art: A Bold Vision for Milwaukee
Dates: September 26, 2025–January 18, 2026
Location: Baker/Rowland Galleries in the Milwaukee Art Museum
Member Preview: September 25, 2025
Fifty years ago, Mrs. Harry Lynde “Peg” Bradley’s extraordinary gift of nearly 400 twentieth-century masterpieces shaped the Museum’s collection and Milwaukee’s cultural landscape. Her collection placed the city in the global spotlight as a leading cultural destination for modern art, and its legacy continues to inspire generations.
Peg Bradley was a prominent Milwaukee-based philanthropist and prolific art collector who followed her intuition and personal taste to build a substantial collection of modern and contemporary paintings, sculptures, and works on paper. In the mid-1970s, she honored her late husband Harry’s civic pride in Milwaukee and kept the world-class collection in their hometown by donating it to the Museum. Her remarkable gift prompted the construction of a new wing and enriched the collection with strong holdings of German Expressionism, postwar abstraction, and modern sculpture—many of which are now considered the Museum’s great treasures.
The exhibition features nearly 100 works by renowned artists Barbara Hepworth, Alex Katz, Georgia O’Keeffe, Pablo Picasso, and Mark Rothko, among many others, and presents these iconic artworks like never before with new scholarship and recent conservation treatments.
Sponsors
Presenting sponsors
Astor Street Foundation
David and Julia Uihlein
Lynde B. Uihlein
Leadership sponsors
Donna and Donald Baumgartner
Anthony and Vicki Cecalupo
Milwaukee Art Museum’s Friends of Art
Jane Bradley Pettit Foundation
Supporting sponsors
Geralyn Cannon
Sallie O. Davis and Family
Rockwell Automation
Contributing sponsors
Thomas Hesselbrock and Carl Spatz
Elizabeth Levins and Herbert Zien
The Milwaukee Art Museum extends its sincere thanks to the Visionaries.
Mark and Debbie Attanasio
Donna and Donald Baumgartner
Murph Burke
Bill and Sandy Haack
The Helmerich Trust
Kenneth and Alice Kayser
Joan Lubar and John Crouch
Joel and Caran Quadracci
Jeff and Gail Yabuki
About the Milwaukee Art Museum
The Milwaukee Art Museum is an essential destination for art and architecture and a vital cultural resource that connects visitors to dynamic art experiences and one another. Housed in iconic buildings by Santiago Calatrava, Eero Saarinen, and David Kahler on a 24-acre lakefront campus, the Museum is Wisconsin’s largest art institution and home to both broad and deep collections, with exceptional holdings in American painting, sculpture, and decorative arts; conceptual and minimalist art; prints and drawings; European art from the Renaissance through the nineteenth century; photography and new media; modern and contemporary design; folk and self-taught art; and twentieth-century Haitian art. A bold symbol of Milwaukee’s ambition and forward-thinking vision, the Museum is a place for community building, education, and celebration that fosters creativity, free speech, and critical discourse for audiences of all ages and backgrounds. For more information, visit mam.org.
Media Contact
For more information, please contact:
Cortney Heimerl
Milwaukee Art Museum
marketingcommunications@mam.org
414-940-0490
Image: Andy Nunemaker, Chair, Board of Trustees; Dr. Kim Sajet, Donna and Donald Baumgartner Director; and Jeff Yabuki, Immediate Past Chair, Board of Trustees, at the Art:Forward Gala. Image by Front Room Studios.
