Milwaukee Art Museum to Present “Seeking Revelation: German Romantic Prints and Drawings”
This new exhibition draws from one of the nation’s strongest collections of German Romantic works on paper, many on view for the first time in decades.
MILWAUKEE, WI—April 22, 2026—The Milwaukee Art Museum presents Seeking Revelation: German Romantic Prints and Drawings, on view June 19 through November 1, 2026. Featuring approximately 85 prints, drawings, and paintings, the exhibition highlights rarely seen works from one of the nation’s strongest collections of German Romantic art.
Drawn largely from the Museum’s collection, Seeking Revelation offers a rare glimpse into a fascinating and often overlooked chapter of art history. Many of the works have not been on view in more than twenty years, and twenty-five recent acquisitions will be presented for the first time.
“Seeking Revelation underscores how exhibitions can spark inquiry and critical reflection,” said Kim Sajet, Donna and Donald Baumgartner Director. “During the early nineteenth century, a period of political, economic, and social change not unlike our own, artists reimagined their roles and used art to engage complex questions such as power, identity, belief, and the individual’s place within a changing world.”
Visitors are invited into a movement shaped by curiosity, reflection, and the search for meaning. Through landscapes, religious imagery, and scenes of travel, German Romantic artists explored the world around them while considering questions of faith, identity, and humanity’s relationship to nature. The act of seeking helped shape their beliefs and offered a way to navigate uncertainty.
The exhibition also connects to Milwaukee’s cultural identity. German immigration played a defining role in shaping the region during the nineteenth century. The exhibition and related programming offer a lens through which to explore this history.
“Seeking Revelation invites visitors to slow down and look closely,” said Nikki Otten, associate curator of prints and drawings. “Drawing and printmaking became tools of discovery, revealing how artists observed, experienced, and thought about the world.”
This exhibition builds on the Museum’s commitment to scholarship while creating space for visitors to engage deeply with art. By bringing these works into view, the exhibition encourages audiences to consider how artists across time have used art to understand the world and their place within it.
A fully illustrated catalogue accompanies the exhibition. Written by Nikki Otten, associate curator of prints and drawings, with essays by Cordula Grewe and Stephanie O’Rourke, the 168-page publication features full-color plates and a complete checklist of the works on view.
Support
Supporting sponsors
Katharine and Sandy Mallin
Milwaukee Art Museum’s Print Forum
Additional support provided by
IFPDA Foundation
Drs. Peter Drescher and Karin Madsen Drescher
The Milwaukee Art Museum extends its sincere thanks to the Visionaries for their support of the exhibition program.
Mark and Debbie Attanasio
Donna and Donald Baumgartner
Murph Burke
Bill and Sandy Haack
Chris Harned and Elizabeth Quadracci Harned
The Helmerich Trust
Kenneth and Alice Kayser
Joan Lubar and John Crouch
Jeff and Gail Yabuki
Visit
Seeking Revelation: German Romantic Prints and Drawings is on view June 19–November 1, 2026, in the Bradley Family Gallery. Learn more by visiting mam.org/seeking-revelation.
Programming
June 18, Member Preview Day
June 25, Gallery Talk
July 23, Lecture: Collecting 19th-Century German Art in Milwaukee
July 31, Gallery Talk
August 30, Gallery Talk, Outdoor Walk, and Performance
October 1, Gallery Talk
October 15, Expert Series
Admission
Adults: $27
Students, seniors (65+), military: $20
Kids 12 and under: Free, thanks to an anonymous donor
Wisconsin K–12 teachers: Free with valid school ID or pay stub
Members: Free
Thursday Nights at MAM
Every Thursday, admission is pay-what-you-wish for everyone from 4 to 8 p.m. Museum admission includes access to collection and exhibition galleries and the Kohl’s Art Studio, which is open Friday–Sunday, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. and Thursdays, 4–7 p.m. Memorial Day through Labor Day.
Membership
Members enjoy free admission, exclusive programs, and special access throughout the year. Learn more at mam.org/membership.
Experience the Burke Brise Soleil
Designed by Santiago Calatrava, the Museum’s iconic wings open daily with the Museum, close and re-open at noon, and close at 10 p.m. The wings are illuminated nightly from sundown to 10 p.m.; movement is weather permitting.
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 or to request hi-res images, please contact:
Cortney Heimerl
Milwaukee Art Museum
communications@mam.org
414-940-0490
Image: Carl Wilhelm Kolbe the Elder (German, 1759–1835), Cow in the Reeds (Die Kuh im Schilfe) (detail), ca. 1800/03. Etching. Plate: 11 15/16 × 16 1/2 in. (30.32 × 41.91 cm); sheet: 16 15/16 × 22 13/16 in. (43.02 × 57.94 cm). Purchase, René von Schleinitz Memorial Fund M2001.171. Photo by John R. Glembin
