The Finest in the Western Country: Wisconsin Decorative Arts 1820–1900

The decorative arts of nineteenth-century Wisconsin tell a story of cultural complexity and rapid change. This exhibition brings together for the first time over 40 important objects from the collections of historical societies, museums, and private individuals throughout Wisconsin to create a diverse array of furniture, ceramics, textiles, and metalwork. Together they reflect the early history of the region—viewed as the “Western Country” by the more established East—as it underwent a dramatic transition from frontier territory to settled state. These works were brought to light through the efforts of the Wisconsin Decorative Arts Database project, an ongoing collaboration of the Wisconsin Historical Society and the Chipstone Foundation to find and document early Wisconsin decorative arts for a publicly accessible online archive.

This exhibition is organized by the Milwaukee Art Museum and the Chipstone Foundation and guest curated by Emily Pfotenhauer, Hummel Fellow at the Chipstone Foundation. Organized at the Milwaukee Art Museum by Sarah Fayen, curator at the Chipstone Foundation.