Milwaukee, WI, February 11—Celebrating springtime April 2-5, 2009, Art In Bloom showcases the talents of more than 40 renowned floral designers interpreting masterworks from the Museum’s Collection. This year’s expanded exhibition also includes lectures and workshops with celebrity floral designers and master gardeners, book signings, plein air painters, a multi-vendor indoor marketplace, a garden sculpture sale, and floral-inspired dining in the Café Calatrava Garden Room. Guests can rub elbows with participating experts while supporting the Museum at the Cocktails and Blooms After Hours gathering on Friday, April 3.

Founded in 1888 with holdings of over 20,000 objects, the Museum’s Collection inspires the floral designers of Art in Bloom with stunning works in all media by artists such as Marc Chagall, Gabriele Münter, Richard Diebenkorn, Georgia O’Keeffe, Jasper Johns, Roy Lichtenstein, and Pablo Picasso. While the designs join their inspirations in the 100,000 square-foot Collection galleries, the brilliant white halls and auditorium of the Santiago Calatrava-designed Quadracci Pavilion afford the backdrop for the weekend’s events, programs, and dining.

Presenting lectures, demonstrations, and book signings will be Michael George—one of the most sought after floral designers in the United States; Milwaukee native Michael Weishan, former host of PBS television’s The Victory Garden; Portland-based vine expert Linda Beutler; landscape designer Craig Bergmann; Chicago Master Gardener and radio host Mike Nowak; local horticulture expert Melinda Myers; renowned children’s book author Lois Ehlert; and many others.

This year’s Art in Bloom features a 25% increase in participating floral designers compared with last year’s exciting inaugural, which welcomed more than 8,000 people to the Museum over four days. The 2009 Art in Bloom also includes some special attention to tulips, in conjunction with the Museum’s groundbreaking presentation of Jan Lievens: Out of Rembrandt’s Shadow, on view through April 26.    

The chairs of Art in Bloom are Marcia Ferguson Velde and Margarete Harvey, ASLA. The president of the Milwaukee Art Museum Garden Club is Phyllis Scharner.

The presenting sponsor of Art In Bloom is the Wisconsin Energy Foundation. Generous additional support by the Milwaukee Art Museum Garden Club and Locker’s Florist.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Subject to changes and additions; please call 414-224-3840 / fran.serlin@mam.org to confirm

Tickets for Art In Bloom
Free for Milwaukee Art Museum Members and children 12 & under
$12 adults, $10 students, seniors (65+), and active military
Museum admission is required for all events, Thursday through Sunday.

Events requiring additional tickets/reservations are noted below.
To order, call 414-224-3803 or visit www.mam.org/bloom (after 3/1).
Advance ticket orders must be received by Friday, March 27.

Daily, Friday through Sunday

Collection galleries open with floral displays
Marketplace open, with gifts and accessories for your home and garden
People’s Choice Awards voting

Drop-in docent-led tours
10 am, noon, and 2 pm

Café Calatrava Garden Room in Windhover Hall
11 am-2:30 pm

Thursday, April 2

5-8 pm | Art After 5
Professional awards, decided by a jury of participating experts, are announced.
People’s Choice Award voting begins.
Plein air artists in Windhover Hall paint floral masterpieces for silent auction ending Sunday. Artist supplies provided by Utrecht Art Supplies

6:15 pm
Lecture: Curb Appeal
$20/$15 Members
Craig Bergmann, president of Craig Bergmann Landscape Design Inc., returns to Art in Bloom to kick off this year’s lecture program as he presents ways to create gardens of incredible depth and artful detail.

Friday, April 3

10 am-5 pm
Silent auction of plein air art continues.
People’s Choice Awards voting continues.

11 am
Lecture: Cutting Edge: Rethinking How and What to Grow for Cut Flowers and Foliage
$20/$15 Members
Author of Garden to Vase, Linda Beutler‘s first lecture of the day provides advice on bouquets, preparing cut flowers for longevity, and much more.

1 pm
Workshop: How to Build/Improve a Successful Shade Garden
$15/$10 Members, reservations required
In this “how to,” Director for the Allen Centennial Gardens at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Ed Lyon walks you through how to overcome shade gardening challenges.

2:30 pm
Lecture: Simply Elegant Flowers
$30/$20 Members
New York’s premier fashion industry florist, Michael George shares his secrets for creating distinctive, monochromatic contemporary arrangements.

3-4 pm
Workshop: Horizontal Hold: Using Vines in All of your Garden’s Layers
$15/$10 Members, reservations required
Author of Gardening with Clematis, Linda Beutler‘s second presentation of the day explains how to create a cohesive tapestry of color and texture at every level of your garden.

5:30-8:30 pm
Cocktails and Blooms: Art in Bloom After Hours
$65/$50 Members
Don’t miss this exclusive opportunity to hobnob with the design experts. Enjoy complimentary beverages and hors d’oeuvres, as well as a special encore appearance by Michael George.

Saturday, April 4

10 am-5 pm
Outdoor sculpture by regional artists in Schroeder Galleria, available for purchase.
Hosted by the African American Art Alliance
Silent auction of plein air art continues

10:30 am
Book Salon discussing Tulipomania by Mike Dash
British author Mike Dash shares the story of the first great stock market boom (and crash) in history. Reservations required at amy.kirschke@mam.org or 414-224-3826.

11 am-1 pm
Lecture: Small Space Gardens: Plants for Every Square Inch of your Small Space
$20/$15 Members
Milwaukee-based horticulture expert Melinda Myers presents simple tips for designing and maintaining a lot of garden in a small space.

1 pm
Workshop: Guys on Grass (or Organic Lawn Care 101)
$15/$10 Members, reservations required
Mike Nowak, the Chicago radio voice of gardening ecology for more than ten years, explains how simple cultural practices can be as effective as chemicals on your lawn.

1-4 pm
Drop-in activities for the entire family
1 pm Lois Ehlert, workshop and book signing with the children’s author

2 pm
Institute of Chamber Music Quartet, UW Peck School of the Arts
Performs in the Bradley Galleries

2:30 pm
Lecture: The Seven Deadly Sins of the Modern American Landscape-and How to Avoid Them
$30/$20 Members
Milwaukee-native Michael Weishan, landscape design firm owner and former host of PBS The Victory Garden, takes a lighthearted look at common gardening errors.

3 pm
Workshop: Gardening with Native Plants
$15/$10 Members, reservations required
A native plant gardener at the UW-Madison Arboretum, Susan Carpenter will highlight native plants for your home landscape.

Sunday, April 5

10 am-5 pm
Outdoor sculpture by regional artists in Schroeder Galleria, available for purchase.
Hosted by the African American Art Alliance
Silent auction ends at 2 pm; posting of winners at 2:30 p.m.

12:30 pm
Workshop: Planting a Striking Container
$15/$10 Members, reservations required
Back by popular demand, horticulturist Zannah Crowe returns to deliver a repeat performance of this popular workshop from last year’s Art in Bloom.

1-4 pm
Drop-in activities for the entire family
1 pm Lois Ehlert, workshop and book signing with the children’s author

2 pm
Lecture: Tulipomania: The Story of the World’s Most Coveted Flower
and the Extraordinary Passions It Aroused
British author Mike Dash shares the story of the first great stock market boom in history. A book signing follows this and every lecture presented during Art in Bloom.

Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra
Performs in Bradley Galleries

3 pm
Workshop: Tulips in the Wisconsin Garden
$15/$10 Members, reservations required
Arthur V. van Zanten, founder of Holland Beauty Flower & Bulb Corporation in Milwaukee, provides tips on growing Tulip bulbs.

Works of Art and Participating Floral Designers

Subject to changes and additions; please call 414-224-3840 / fran.serlin@mam.org to confirm

Main Level
Gallery 1
Torso of a Male Athlete (The Oil Pourer), Unknown Roman
Waukesha County Technical College

Gallery 2
Field Armor, Michel Witz the Younger (workshop of)
Moss Floral Design School & Studio

Gallery 3
Triple Profile Portrait, Lucas de Heere  (attributed to)
Elm Brook Garden Club

Gallery 4
Madonna and Child, Nardo di Cione
Petaluna Flowers & Gifts

Gallery 5
Still Life with a Crab, Pieter Claesz
The Flower Lady

Gallery 6
The Triumph of Galatea, Corrado Giaquinto
Amber Sol Event Flower Design LLC

Gallery 7
Moses Presenting the Tablets of the Law, Philippe de Champaigne
Milwaukee Art Museum Garden Club

Gallery 8
Flowers in Terra-cotta Vase, Jan van Os
Whole Foods Market

Gallery 9
Settee, Unknown, Austrian
Whitefish Bay Garden Club

Gallery 10
The Rivals (Little Kittens), Mihály Munkácsy
Luxe Events

Gallery 11
Boating on the Yerres [Périssoires sur l’Yerres], Gustave Caillebotte
Milaegers

Gallery 12
Früher Morgen, Leba (Early Morning, Leba), Max Pechstein
Milwaukee School of Flower Design

Gallery 16
Prognostic, Manierre Dawson
Pots on the Spot

Gallery 18
East is the Place, Milton Resnick
Tulipomania European Flower Market

Gallery 19
Untitled, Jasper Johns
The Wreath Factory

Gallery 19
Crying Girl, Roy Lichtenstein
Green Tree Garden Club

Gallery 21
St. Dionysus, Kehinde Wiley
Ikebana International Chapter 22

Gallery 22
Untitled, Donald Judd
Muscari

Gallery 26
Ruin, Nam June Paik
Milwaukee Organic Gardening Club

Gallery 27
Northwood III, Kenneth D. Snelson
Waukesha Floral & Greenhouse

Lemon/Red Crown, Harvey K. Littleton
The Flowersmith, Inc.

Upper Level
AFRICAN AMERICAN COLLECTION
Crown (Adenla), Unknown, Nigerian
Green Tree Garden Club

HAITIAN COLLECTION       
Crowded Market, Laurent Casimir
Sendik’s Balistreri Owned and Operated

Flower Carnival [Carnaval des Fleurs], Rigaud Benoit
French Poodle Floral Design

FOLK ART COLLECTION
Landscape with House II, Morris Hirshfield
South East Wisconsin Master Gardeners

Uncle Sam Mailbox, Peter Jodocy
Kettle Moraine Garden Club

Untitled, Nek Chand
Lilypots Fresh Flowers

BRADLEY COLLECTION
Big Head, Karel Appel 
The Flower Lady

Ocean Park No. 68, Richard Diebenkorn
freshdesign

Poppies, Georgia O’Keeffe
Urban Sense

Roses on Path, Emil Nolde
Bonnie White Flower Design

The Cock of the Liberation [Le Coq de la Liberation], Pablo Picasso
Monches Farm

The Green House, Murnau, Gabriele Münter
Nature’s Grace Floral Design

The Horseman, Marc Chagall
The Flower Studio, Ltd.

The Wheat Field, Maurice de Vlaminck 
Kettle Moraine Garden Club

White Lilies, Alex Katz
Elm Brook Garden Club

White Path [Der Weisse Weg], Ernst Wilhelm Nay
Belle Fiori, Ltd.

Zeta, Morris Louis 
Fantasy Flowers

Lower Level
Sofa, John Henry Belter (attributed to)
Adells Affair, Floral & Event Design

Three Sisters – A Study in June Sunlight, Edmund Charles Tarbell
Gardens by Garland, Inc.

A Passing Shower, Frederic Edwin Church
Stano Landscaping

Participating Artists

Plein Air Artists (as of 2/12/09)
Shelby Keefe
Mary Ulm Mayhew
Tom Nachreiner
Chuck Weber
Katie Musolff

Garden Sculptors
Sam Carter
Mark Fischer
Chris Leslie
George Ray McCormick, Sr.
Bruce Niemi
Mike Nolte
Demetra Salontos
Vito Valenti
Ann Wydeven
Bruce Yale

###