{"id":6673,"date":"2025-05-28T10:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-28T15:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mam.org\/info\/pressroom\/?p=6673"},"modified":"2025-06-18T12:40:25","modified_gmt":"2025-06-18T17:40:25","slug":"milwaukee-art-museum-presents-the-bradley-collection-of-modern-art-a-bold-vision-for-milwaukee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/mam.org\/info\/pressroom\/2025\/05\/milwaukee-art-museum-presents-the-bradley-collection-of-modern-art-a-bold-vision-for-milwaukee\/","title":{"rendered":"Milwaukee Art Museum Presents \u201cThe Bradley Collection of Modern Art: A Bold Vision for Milwaukee\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The exhibition celebrates the 50th anniversary of this transformational gift of modern art and its long-lasting legacy at the Museum and in Milwaukee.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Georgia
Georgia O’Keeffe (American, 1887\u20131986), Poppies<\/em>, 1950. Oil on canvas. 36 \u00d7 30 in. (91.44 \u00d7 76.2 cm). Milwaukee Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Harry Lynde Bradley, M1977.133 \u00a9 2025 Georgia O’Keeffe Museum \/ Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"Andy
Andy Warhol (American, 1928\u20131987), Campbell’s Soup<\/em>, 1965. Acrylic on canvas. 36 \u00d7 24 in. (91.44 \u00d7 60.96 cm). Milwaukee Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Harry Lynde Bradley, M1977.157 \u00a9 2025 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. \/ Licensed by Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

MILWAUKEE, WI<\/strong>\u2014May 27, 2025\u2014The Milwaukee Art Museum is proud to announce The Bradley Collection of Modern Art: A Bold Vision for Milwaukee<\/a><\/em>, a landmark exhibition honoring the extraordinary gift that shaped the institution\u2019s collection and the city\u2019s cultural landscape. The exhibition marks the 50th anniversary<\/strong> of Mrs. Harry Lynde \u201cPeg\u201d Bradley\u2019s gift, which brought to Milwaukee nearly 400 twentieth-century<\/strong> masterpieces by icons of modernism including Barbara Hepworth<\/strong>, Georgia O\u2019Keeffe<\/strong>, and Andy Warhol<\/strong>, among many others. The exhibition opens to the public on September 26, 2025<\/strong>, in the Museum\u2019s Baker\/Rowland Galleries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeg Bradley\u2019s philanthropy and transformational gift of art were demonstrations of faith in the museum and its future impact on the people of Milwaukee,\u201d said Marcelle Polednik, PhD, Donna and Donald Baumgartner Director<\/strong>. \u201cShe set an example of how one person\u2019s generosity can shape both an institution and a community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Peg Bradley was a prominent Milwaukee-based philanthropist and prolific art collector, who followed her intuition and personal taste to collect widely. Between 1950 and 1975, she built an outstanding and substantial collection, acquiring colorful, expressionistic paintings, sculptures, and works on paper. Though her art world connections grew nationwide and overseas through the years, her philanthropic efforts remained local. In the mid-1970s, Peg Bradley honored her late husband Harry\u2019s civic pride in Milwaukee and kept the world-class collection in their hometown. Her remarkable gift enriched the Museum\u2019s collection and prompted the construction of a new wing with dedicated galleries, cementing Milwaukee as a leading cultural destination for modern art.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Bradley collection reflects the woman who assembled it: vibrant and colorful,\u201d said Elizabeth Siegel, Chief of Curatorial Affairs<\/strong>. \u201cFifty years after the private collection became a public good, generations of Milwaukeeans still appreciate and benefit from Peg Bradley\u2019s gift to the Milwaukee Art Museum and its transformational effect on the city she called home.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The exhibition explores themes central to Peg Bradley\u2019s collecting philosophy\u2014including contributions made by women artists and bold colors and forms\u2014and highlights her strong holdings of German Expressionism, postwar abstraction, and modern sculpture. It presents nearly 100 works of art by Helen Frankenthaler<\/strong>, Alex Katz<\/strong>, Gabriele M\u00fcnter<\/strong>, Pablo Picasso<\/strong>, and Mark Rothko<\/strong>, among other renowned artists, and offers audiences a fresh perspective on the revered collection. Visitors will experience these iconic artworks like never before as many will be on display following recent conservation treatments and historically enhanced framing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many of the artworks Peg Bradley gifted are among the Museum\u2019s great treasures and continue to be visitor favorites. Highlights in the exhibition include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n