Act/React ends Jan 11
Catesby, Audubon
opens Dec 18
winter 2008–09
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winter 2008–09 on view 4 Jan Lievens
Opening Feb 7, 2009
9 from the collection Ongoing
10 act/react Closing Jan 11, 2009
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12 Catesby, Audubon
Opening Dec 18, 2008
14 DRAWN TO NATURE Opening Dec 4, 2008 15 scholastic art awards Opening Jan 31, 2009 16 remains Opening Feb 12, 2009
profiles 17 brent gohde
Jan Lievens, Self-Portrait, ca. 1629–30 (detail). Private collection.
18 Dr. alfred bader
19 the roberts family
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happenings 20 22 24 26 26 27 28 29 30
holidAY HAPPENINGS FAMILY FUN MAM After dark additional gallery talks sunday brunch say “i do” at the museum
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Member Extras What’s up online museum store event ICON Key Free for Members. By reservation only. Call 414-224-3200 for details.
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Free with general admission. Fee charged. Member discounts may apply.
Free for general public.
Exhibition ticket required. Free for Members with allotted tickets.
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Your Promising Gift Dan Keegan portrait courtesy Milwaukee Business Journal.
Please Give to the Annual Campaign As we approach the New Year, I write to thank you for your investment in the Milwaukee Art Museum. Your support makes a difference for the Museum and the community it serves. And in this difficult economic climate, your membership makes an even greater difference. Continued loyal patronage is the only way the next generation will have the opportunity to learn to see their world through the history of visual creativity presented within these walls. Renewed support also enables you, your family and friends to share this special place through exhibitions and programs that inspire, educate, and entertain. It enables you to be an actual part of the art in exhibitions such as Act/React. It also makes possible exhibitions like the upcoming Jan Lievens exhibition, which looks back four hundred years to seventeenth-century Holland through the works of one of the greatest Dutch masters, better known in his day than Rembrandt himself, and now finally stepping out of his shadow. In a September New Yorker article, former Milwaukee Art Museum director Russell Bowman said that architect Santiago Calatrava “took our Museum to levels we never imagined.” Today, those “levels” include international acclaim for both our Museum and our city, and delighting our visitors with memorable experiences in a building that rivals any in the world. I would add that your support has taken us to levels we never imagined. And today, visitors from around the globe also delight in our world-class collection of art and special exhibitions. Here are three solid support opportunities I hope you will consider: • Renew and even upgrade your Milwaukee Art Museum membership. • Consider a year-end contribution to the Annual Fund to sustain education and exhibition programs, and all that keeps this Museum strong. • Guarantee a wonderful 2009 for someone special with a gift membership that brings joy and delight all year long. Your investment in the Museum is a personal one, but your choice to become a Member of the Museum affects an entire community—now and for generations to come. Whatever level of membership you choose, I speak for the entire Museum community in thanking you for your support of the Milwaukee Art Museum. My very best wishes for the holidays and the New Year.
Giving Is Easy! Call the Member Hotline at 414224-3284 or visit us online at www.mam.org/ donate.
Daniel Keegan Director
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on view | FEATURE exhibition
“This unveiling of a little-known Dutch master just may be the show of the year.” —Mary Louise Schumacher, 4
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on view | FEATUre Exhibition
Jan Lievens, The Lamentation of Christ, ca. 1640 (detail). Bayerisches Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Munich, Alte Pinakothek.
member preview celebration | thurs, feb 5, 5–9 pm opening | feb 7–Apr 26 | baker/rowland galleries
History has not been kind to Jan Lievens (1607–1674). A child prodigy—whose talent was prized by connoisseurs and collectors in his native Leiden during his teenage years, whose services were sought by princely patrons in The Hague and London before he reached age twenty-five, and who later in life continued to receive important religious, civic, and portrait commissions in Antwerp, Amsterdam, and Berlin—Lievens barely registers today in the public consciousness. Because Lievens and Rembrandt (1606– 1669) were born in Leiden just over a year apart, studied with the same master, and lived near one another, their names are forever conjoined. It is evident that as aspiring artists, they developed a symbiotic relationship that benefited them both. Nevertheless, Rembrandt’s posthumous fame as the greatest artist of the Dutch golden age has left Lievens in his shadow, described as a follower or student, even though Leivens began his career some years before his compatriot. Owing to Lievens’ peripatetic mode of living after leaving Leiden and his resultant international style of painting, a number of his best works were later attributed to Rembrandt, as well as to other artists. Fortunately, these misattributions are being corrected, and Lievens’ early paintings are now better known, with the brashness of his vision and w w w.mam.org
the boldness of his brushwork seen as rivaling Rembrandt’s during the formative period of their careers. It is argued that in many respects, Lievens was the initiator of the stylistic and thematic developments that characterized both artists’ work in the late 1620s. This exhibition, organized by the National Gallery of Art, in association with the Milwaukee Art Museum and the Rembrandt House Museum, Amsterdam, for the first time, presents an overview of the full range of Lievens’ career, and a long overdue reassessment of his artistic contribution. It will include about forty-five of his finest paintings—memorable character studies, genre scenes, landscapes, formal portraits, and religious and allegorical images—drawn from collections in England, Europe, and America, as well as some eighty drawings and prints. —Arthur K. Wheelock Jr., Curator of Northern Baroque Painting, National Gallery of Art, and curator of the exhibition This article was excerpted and modified for the purposes of this magazine with permission from the author. Read the original essay in its entirety in the exhibition catalogue, Jan Lievens: A Dutch Master Rediscovered.
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Lievens’ early paintings are now better known, with the brashness of his vision and the boldness of his brushwork seen as rivaling Rembrandt’s. 6
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on view | FEATURE exhibition opening | feb 7–Apr 26 | baker/rowland galleries
Jan Lievens Programs + Events President’s Circle Preview Wed, Feb 4, 5:30–9 pm Watch for your invitation in the mail.
Jan Lievens, Boy in a Cape and Turban, ca. 1631 (detail). Private collection.
Vermeer’s Hat: The Global Context of Dutch Art Thurs, Feb 26, 6:15 pm Timothy Brook, principal at Sponsored by Isabel and Alfred Bader St. John’s College and professor of Chinese history at the Member Preview Celebration University of British Columbia, Thurs, Feb 5, 5–9 pm will discuss his best-selling $20 non-members book Vermeer’s Hat. 6:15 pm Program Appetizers and cash bar Book Salons Thurs, Feb 12, 6:15 pm With free champagne Member Preview Days Sat, Feb 14, 10:30 am Thurs, Feb 5, 10 am–9 pm Fri, Feb 6, 10 am–5 pm The True History of Chocolate by Sophie D. Coe and Member Exhibition Talk Michael D. Coe Fri, Feb 6, 1:30 pm With Arthur K. Wheelock Jr., More Online curator, National Gallery of Art For exhibition highlights and the complete, detailed 30-Minute Express Talks listing of programs through Thurs, Feb 12, 19, 26, noon April, visit www.mam.org. Gallery Talk: Out of Rembrandt’s Shadow Tues, Feb 10, 1:30 pm With curator Laurie Winters Gallery Talk: Master of the Portrait Tues, Feb 24, 1:30 pm With curator Laurie Winters
Special guest speakers coming in March and April: Walter Liedtke, Curator of Northern Baroque Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art; Mike Dash, author of Tulipomania; Alfred Bader, renowned Milwaukee collector of Dutch art
Jan Lievens Catalogue The fully illustrated, 320-page catalogue, Jan Lievens: A Dutch Master Rediscovered by exhibition curator Arthur K. Wheelock Jr., features essays by Stephanie S. Dickey, E. Melanie Gifford, Gregory Rubenstein, Jaap van der Veen, and Lloyd DeWitt and is produced by the National Gallery of Art and published in association with Yale University Press. Available at the Museum Store and online at www.mam.org/store. Hardcover $65/$58.50 Member Softcover $45/$40.50 Member
The exhibition is organized by the National Gallery of National sponsor of the exhibition Art, Washington, in association with the Milwaukee Art Museum and the Rembrandt House Museum, Amsterdam. Laurie Winters, curator of earlier European art, is the organizing curator at the Milwaukee Art Museum. The exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities. w w w.mam.org
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on view | FEATURE exhibition opening | feb 7–Apr 26 | baker/rowland galleries jan lievens national sponsor
Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation is the philanthropic legacy of two brothers, Lynde and Harry Bradley. It is a private, independent grant-making organization based in Milwaukee with programs that support human dignity and the value of intellectual and artistic freedom. The Foundation has long underwritten a wide range of cultural and artistic endeavors as a natural extension of its mission to encourage education and scholarship. The Foundation’s directors believe that the preservation and understanding of the human artistic heritage is as essential to an enlightened society as the study of history; that in order to remain free, a society must be culturally vibrant and intellectually vigorous. It is because this transmission of enduring principles from one generation to the next is so much a part of our work that the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation is pleased to support the exhibition Jan Lievens: A Dutch Master Rediscovered. We hope that it will bring new appreciation for Lievens’ genius, a deeper understanding of his place in the history of art, and most important, a renewed sense of the transcendence of beauty and of the human spirit. The Foundation is grateful to the trustees and directors of both the National Gallery of Art and the Milwaukee Art Museum, and especially to Laurie Winters, curator of earlier European art at the Milwaukee Art Museum, and Arthur K. Wheelock Jr., curator of northern baroque painting at the National Gallery of Art, for their splendid work in presenting this new perspective on the art of Jan Lievens. We are privileged to be able to assist in their efforts.
Michael W. Grebe President and Chief Executive Officer, lynde and harry Bradley Foundation
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Jan Lievens, Profile Head of an Old Woman (“Rembrandt’s Mother”), ca. 1630 (detail). Collection of the Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Queen’s University. Gift of Alfred and Isabel Bader, 2005. 48-001.
Jan Lievens, Samson and Delilah, ca. 1628 (detail). Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. sk-a-1627.
We hope that the partnership with the National Gallery of Art and the Rembrandt House Museum will help the Milwaukee Art Museum continue to build its international reputation.
on view | collection ongoing | gallery 5
Art Lives Here
Jan van Goyen, Landscape with Skaters, 1643 (detail). Lent by Westerdijk Collection.
From the Collection
Experience 1643 Delft with a visit to the Northern Baroque Gallery, where the exquisite oil painting Landscape with Skaters by Dutch artist Jan van Goyen (Leiden 1595–1656 The Hague) is a highlight. This typical Netherlandish winter scene shows the people of Delft taking advantage of the ice on the canal for both transportation and sport. In the left foreground, a horsedrawn sled carries four people across the icy waterway as a young boy on skates steals a ride. To the right, two men push a barrel on a sled, and a man with a bright red cap laces up his skates. Behind him, two men and a boy play “kolf,” a popular game related to hockey. Providing the backdrop is the city of Delft, presided over by the Gothic Oude Kerk (Old Church) with its five distinctive spires towering above the old city center. w w w.mam.org
As one of the most important landscape painters of the golden age of Dutch art, Van Goyen helped develop a highly realistic approach to Dutch landscape painting known as tonalism. Using a restricted palette of browns, yellows, and ochers, he created luminous representations of the humid Dutch air, cool suffused light, and broad expanses of the flat Holland terrain. As in many of Van Goyen’s panoramas, it is the sky, rather than the land or the water, that covers most of the panel. Want to see more paintings from the Dutch golden age? Visit Jan Lievens: A Dutch Master Rediscovered, opening on February 7, 2009. More on page 4.
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on view | FEATURE exhibition closing | ENDS jan 11 | baker/rowland galleries
“Interactivity to [a] new level” —Associated Press Don’t miss this digital world-premiere exhibition! Ends Jan 11, 2009.
“People engage with the art in this gallery with their whole body.”
Act/React sponsored in part by:
—Scott Snibbe Exhibition guest curated by George Fifield.
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Generous additional support provided by the Milwaukee Art Museum’s Friends of Art.
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“Playful, intuitive, and first of its kind.” —ArtDaily.org
30-Minute Express Talks: Act/React Thurs, Dec 4, 11, 18 and Jan 1, 8, noon
Act/React Catalogue + DVD
At the Museum Store and www.mam.org/store. $34/$30.60 Member
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on view | exhibition opening | Dec 18, 2008–Mar 22, 2009 | koss gallery
Prints of the Flora and Fauna of America Three hundred years ago, Englishman Mark Catesby (1683–1749) first set foot in North America, determined to satisfy his “passionate desire of viewing as well the Animal as Vegetable Productions in their Native Countries; which were Strangers to England.” Catesby’s epic undertaking, The Natural History of Carolina, Florida, and the Bahama Islands, is a volume of 220 beautiful, hand-colored etchings of the flora and fauna he encountered in the British colonies. Catesby’s work set the standard for the next generation of eminent naturalists, including John James Audubon (1785–1851). A gifted entrepreneur, artist, and naturalist, Audubon left France to make his home in the newly founded United States of America, where he sought to document all the birds in watercolors, which were then etched and Opening Thurs, Dec 18, 5–8 pm 6:15 pm Gallery talk with curator Mary Weaver Chapin 7 pm Reception, appetizers and cash bar Sponsored by Print Forum
Gallery Talk Tues, Jan 13, 1:30 pm With exhibition curator Mary Weaver Chapin
carefully colored by hand. His masterwork, The Birds of America, from Original Drawings Made during a Residence of 25 Years in the United States, is a monument in American art. This exhibition will feature approximately sixty prints by these naturalist artists, almost exclusively drawn from the Museum’s rich collection. Works by additional artists such as Alexander Wilson and John Woodhouse Audubon, as well as rare books from the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Memorial Library, the Milwaukee Public Library, and the esteemed Newberry Library in Chicago, will inform the exhibition and enhance our understanding of this crucial moment in art, science, and natural history. This exhibition was organized by Mary Weaver Chapin, associate curator of prints and drawings, and supported by The Phoebe R. and John D. Lewis Foundation.
Lecture: Audubon in the American Wilderness Thurs, Jan 22, 6:15 pm With Pulitzer Prize–winning author Richard Rhodes, John James Audubon, The Making of an American (2004). Reception and book signing to follow; copies available in the Museum Store. $16/$14.40 Member
Gallery Talk: More than Meets the Eye Tues, Feb 17, 1:30 pm On the printmaking innovations these naturalist artists used, with Chief Conservator Jim deYoung and Associate Curator of Prints and Drawings Mary Weaver Chapin
Sponsored by American Heritage Society, Garden Club, and Print Forum
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John James Audubon, American Flamingo from The Birds of America (London, 1827–38), 1838 (detail). Gift of Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company. Photo: John R. Glembin
Catesby, Audubon, and the Discovery of a New World
Catesby’s work set the standard for the next generation of eminent naturalists, including John James Audubon.
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on view | collection opening | Dec 4, 2008–Mar 3, 2009 | mezzanine level
Drawn to Nature Prints by JoAnna Poehlmann Artist Q&A Milwaukee-based artist JoAnna Poehlmann is known nationally and internationally for her prints, drawings, and artist books of the natural world, which can be found in such august institutions as the Victoria & Albert Museum, London; The Museum of Modern Art, New York; and the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis. Birds, reptiles, and insects have been an integral part of Poehlmann’s oeuvre since the 1970s, making her work a perfect pairing with the exhibition Catesby, Audubon, and the Discovery of a New World: Prints of the Flora and Fauna of America. Here, curator Mary Weaver Chapin explores Poehlmann’s imagery and inspiration. Where do you find inspiration for your work? Sources for my nature studies have been the JoAnna Poehlmann, Opening Night at the Ice Follies, 1962 (detail). Purchase. Photo: John R. Glembin. Zoo, the Milwaukee Public Museum, the Domes, the forest floor and shoreline of Door County, title my drawings to relate to the human condiand a collection of taxidermal critters. tion; the wordplay brings the work into another, literary level. I give the masters homage, yet How are you influenced by your artistic preserve my own individual expression. forebears such as Mark Catesby and John James Audubon? What role do artist books play in your oeuvre? I experience the same reaction to nature they The artist book becomes a direct extension must have—awe at the endless variety and limit- of the pictorial and verbal puns in my twoless subject matter of creation, and the desire to dimensional pieces, blending the visual and reflect what is witnessed. My art differs in that I literary aspects of the work under “one cover.”
Gallery Talk Thurs, Feb 19, 6:15 pm With curator Mary Weaver Chapin and educator Barbara Brown Lee 14
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“I experience the same reaction to nature… awe at the endless variety and limitless subject matter of creation.”
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on view | exhibition opening | Jan 31–Mar 8, 2009 | schroeder galleria & pieper gallery
Scholastic Art Awards 2009 Wisconsin Regional Exhibition The Scholastic Art Awards have been recognizing and encouraging excellence in the visual arts across the United States for over eighty years. Since 1976, the Wisconsin Regional component has been hosted by the Milwaukee Art Museum, where thousands of students in grades 7–12 and their teachers have been encouraged and inspired in their artistic endeavors. This year’s exciting exhibition will feature more than 350 artworks created by students from throughout Wisconsin. The works have been selected by a jury of twenty-four art professionals from over 1,500 entries in the categories of Animation, Apparel Design, Ceramics & Glass, Computer Art, Digital Imagery, Drawing, Graphic Design, Graphic Story, Installation/Environmental Design, Jewelry Design, Mixed Media, Painting, Photography, Plans and Models, Printmaking, Product Design, Sculpture, and Video & Film. Award-winning students are recognized at awards ceremonies in Windhover Hall. The Silver Key Award denotes special statewide recognition; Gold Key Award–winning artworks continue on to the national competition, along with those from over sixty-five other regional competitions throughout the nation. Students whose work receives a Silver or Gold Gallery Talk Tues, Feb 3, 1:30 pm With exhibition coordinator Helena Ehlke
Emily Schudrowitz, Remembrance, 2008. Gold Key Award and Barbara Brown Lee Award in Digital Imagery.
Medal at the national level are honored at Carnegie Hall in New York City in June. Helena Ehlke, who coordinates the competition and exhibition at the Museum, looks forward to seeing the work of Wisconsin’s up-and-coming young talent each year within the Museum. “Many of these winners go on to achieve distinction in the fields of fine and applied arts and design, and credit the early recognition they received as a participant in Scholastic.” Sponsored by the Milwaukee Art Museum, the Milwaukee Art Museum Docents, the Marc and Karen Flesch Memorial Fund, James Heller in memory of Avis Heller, Ray and Sue Kehm with matching funds from AT&T, James and Carol Wiensch, and an anonymous donor
This year’s exciting exhibition will feature more than 350 artworks created by students from throughout Wisconsin. w w w.mam.org
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on view | exhibition opening | Feb 12–June 7, 2009 | Decorative arts gallery
Remains Contemporary Artists and the Material Past of all decoration, these white, fragile forms reveal the uncertainty that underlies the domestic interior. BA Harrington probes the morbid sexual metaphors lurking in old dowry chests in her installation, Dowagers. Harrington’s work blends wood, embroidery, and bright, colored paint into a provocative whole. Collectively, these three works open up new insights into historic objects and, at the same time, raise important questions about the dreams, fantasies, and memories people project onto material objects. Artists Panel and Reception Thurs, Feb 12, 6:15 pm With the three artists
These three works…raise important questions about the dreams, fantasies, and memories people project onto material objects.
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Beth Lipman, Still Life with Metal Pitcher, 2007 (detail). Image courtesy Heller Gallery, New York.
The three midwestern-based artists represented in this exhibition—Beth Lipman, Sarah Lindley, and BA Harrington—find inspiration in the decorative arts of the past. Beth Lipman’s monumental sculpture Still Life with Metal Pitcher presents a dining table covered in some four hundred handblown vessels, each of which is a transparent rendering of a historic form. Lipman loosely bases her compositions on Dutch still-life paintings, and draws parallels between the golden age of Holland and today’s era of mass consumerism. Sarah Lindley’s chests and cabinets are haunting skeletal re-creations of eighteenth-century furniture, built of high-fired porcelain. Stripped
profiles | members matter
Brent Gohde Cedar Block, an events-planning organization, has partnered with the Museum on five onenight art parties related to select exhibitions: Bruce Nauman 101 (Elusive Signs: Bruce Nauman Works with Light), Milwaukee Street Milwaukee (In Living Color: Photographs by Saul Leiter), Three Degrees of Francis Bacon (Francis Bacon: Paintings from the 1950s), The Ramírez Box (Martín Ramírez), and What You Get When You Cross... (Gilbert & George). Prior to each event, local artists are challenged, under certain restrictions, to create an original work inspired by the art in the exhibition. How did your Museum collaboration begin? Cedar Block started as just a party for my friends. The first event, Weird Science at Luckystar Gallery, combined art, science, and music, and attracted a diverse audience. The Museum asked me to create a similar event in conjunction with its Bruce Nauman exhibition. It was a great success, and “illuminated” the work of the featured artist.
Age: 32 Day Job: Account Executive at Fullhouse Media Favorite Artwork in the Collection: Anselm Kiefer’s Midgard Member Since: 2001
Why do you think the Cedar Block events at the Museum are so popular? Cedar Block’s audience has always been interested in something a little new, different, and challenging. There is always some familiar element that triggers the creativity and ties it all together. After that, it’s fun to see the different interpretations of that initial trigger. Seeing this work in the Museum adds another level of excitement. Don’t miss the next MAM After Dark/Cedar Block event, Jan Lievens on a Jet Plane, Friday, February 20, 5 p.m.–midnight. See page 24.
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profiles | members matter
Dr. Alfred Bader At age ten, Dr. Alfred Bader purchased his first Old Master drawing with the birthday money he was given to purchase a camera. A chemist by profession, Dr. Bader founded Aldrich, later Sigma-Aldrich, in 1951, and featured paintings from his growing collection of seventeenth-century Netherlandish art on the company’s catalogs. His passion for Baroque art continues today, and when he heard about Arthur Wheelock’s plans to work with Lloyd DeWitt on an exhibition at the National Gallery of Art on Dutch artist Jan Lievens, he urged the Museum’s director to bring it to Milwaukee. As a sponsor of the Jan Lievens exhibition, Dr. Bader has facilitated making this request a reality. Christina Dittrich, the Museum’s senior editor, had the pleasure of talking to Dr. Bader, now an art dealer, at his gallery.
Age: 84 Day Job: Art Dealer, Alfred Bader Fine Arts Favorite Artwork in the Collection: Saint Francis of Assisi in His Tomb by Francisco de Zurbarán Member Since: 1952
When did you first encounter Jan Lievens?
I have admired the works of Lievens since the early 1970s when I began buying his paintings. I have subsequently written about the artist in both of my autobiographies, and have given several lectures on Lievens, including a discussion on him in “The Rembrandt Research Project and the Collector,” at the Museum in January 2006.
How did you instill an appreciation for art in your sons, David and Daniel?
For this, Dr. Bader referred me to Collected Opinions: Essays on Netherlandish Art in Honour of Alfred Bader, in which his sons explain: “Our father was…persistently teachHow do you know a particular work ing us how to look at paintings, judge their is worth purchasing? condition and, with luck, learn when they I know instantly by how it affects me physically. were of good value.” What advice would you give to a new collector?
I always advise: 1.) Never buy anything unless you love it, and 2.) Buy the best you can afford. 18
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Dr. Bader will talk about the joys of collecting, at the Museum on April 26. His autobiography Chemistry and Art: Further Adventures of a Chemist Collector is available at the Museum Store. $30/$27 Member
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profiles | members matter
The Roberts Family The Roberts family visits the Milwaukee Art Museum often. Whether for the mac-n-cheese (Una’s favorite) at Café Calatrava, to see the Bradley Collection, or to take in the Lakefront Festival of Arts, the Roberts found they were visiting the Museum at least once a month. “Logistically, it’s an easy place to visit with children. The space is familiar and comfortable to be in, and the children find new art to be intrigued by with each visit.” Here, Michael talks about the family’s outings to the Museum. How did visiting the Museum become a regular activity for you and the kids? We live downtown, so it is a natural destination given all that it has to offer. Aine enjoys the art shows and events such as the wine tasting this last summer. Una enjoys the café and looks forward to the art-making activities for families on the weekends. Eoghan’s first exhibition was Gilbert & George. How did you decide to become Members? Becoming Members of the Museum was an easy choice because we are always going there. The Museum provides so much to do, and a great atmosphere.
Michael Roberts: Artist and stay-at-home dad Aine Roberts: Brand Manager at Kohl’s Una Roberts: Age 3 Eoghan Roberts: Age 12 weeks Favorite Artwork in the Collection: Ruin by Nam June Paik Members Since: 2004
As an artist yourself, do you benefit from your trips to the Museum? The Museum is a place of constant inspiration and a resource for questioning my own work. I’m also seeing Una begin to relate to and question the art, especially the work in the contemporary and Bradley Collection galleries. Next summer we’ll be signing her up for art classes. w w w.mam.org
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happenings | programs + events
Holiday Happenings
The Neapolitan Crèche On view Nov 28–Feb 15 Gallery 6 Fine Arts Society Holiday Luncheon and Tour Tues, Dec 2, noon Enjoy a festive luncheon in Windhover Hall, followed by a highlights tour of the European galleries with Curator of Earlier European Art Laurie Winters. $30/person, rsvp 414-224-3293 20
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Gallery Talk: The Neapolitan Crèche Sat, Dec 6, 1:30 pm Experience the Museum’s seasonal display of the much-loved eighteenthcentury crèche with Assistant Curator of Earlier European Art Catherine Sawinski. Learn about the handcrafted sculptures, both sacred and secular in theme, in this engaging Nativity scene.
Museum Store: Member Double Discount Days Thurs, Dec 4, 11, and 18, 10 am–8 pm Get your holiday decor, trim the tree, and find memorable, one-of-a-kind gifts at 20% off. Members enjoy free gift-wrapping. Museum Store: After the Holiday Sale Begins Fri, Dec 26, 10 am–5 pm Holiday merchandise 25% off
Gallery Talk: A Christmas Story with Barbara Brown Lee Thurs, Dec 11, 1:30 pm Celebrate the art of the season with Chief Educator Barbara Brown Lee, as she shares stories from religious works in the galleries. Holiday Brunch Sun, Dec 14, 10:30 am–2 pm Spend time with family and friends over a delicious buffet prepared by Café Calatrava, in Windhover Hall. $30/$27 Member/$10 children 12 and under rsvp by December 5 to Courtney Bell at 414-224-3297 or Courtney.Bell@mam.org.
Also see Family Fun (pg. 22) for gift-making opportunities in the Open Studio.
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far left Crèche, Naples, mid-18th century (detail). Gift of Loretta Howard Sturgis. Photo: John R. Glembin
Holiday Hours Thanksgiving Closed Christmas Eve Open 10 am–3 pm Christmas Closed New Year’s Eve Open 10 am–3 pm New Year’s Day Open 10 am–8 pm
happenings | membership
Warm the Heart with the Gift of Art A Milwaukee Art Museum membership is the perfect gift for any occasion. Warm the heart of the people in your life with a year of art, inspiration, and fun—a gift that is beautifully packaged and that keeps giving year-round.
Membership Benefits Include: • Free general admission • Ticket(s) to each feature exhibition • Invitations and free admission to Member-only events • Discounts in the Museum Store, on classes and events, and on pre-purchased parking passes • A subscription to the quarterly Member magazine • Free admission to Target Family Sundays, MAM After Dark, gallery talks, and lectures Gift Giving Has Never Been Easier! • Visit us at www.mam.org/membership • Call the Membership Hotline: 414-224-3284 • Stop in the Museum during regular hours Upgrade to a Donor-level Member and receive 50% off Family and Dual gift memberships. Call 414-224-3284 to upgrade today!
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happenings | programs + events
Family Fun For a complete listing of programs and up-to-the-minute event details, visit www.mam.org.
Family Time in the Galleries Saturdays, 1–3 pm Drop in for these art activities. Stay 5 minutes or stay all day! December 6 Sketching in the Galleries: American Collections 13 Scavenger Hunt: Patterns 20 Meet the Artist of Meissen in Winter 27 ArtPack Adventures: Sketch Packs January 3 Sketching in the Galleries: August Macke 10 Scavenger Hunt: Hands 17 Meet the Artist: Motherwell 24 ArtPack Adventures: Travel the World Through Art 31 Meet the Artist: Audubon February 7 Sketching in the Galleries: Folk Art 14 Scavenger Hunt: Hearts 21 Meet the Artist: Picasso 28 ArtPack Adventures: Discover Color
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Open Studio Sundays, 1–3 pm Try your hand at the techniques used to create the works in the Museum’s Collection. Swing by anytime between 1 and 3 p.m. December 7 Miniature Masterpiece Pins 14 Quilt Squares 21 Stamping: Holiday Gift Wrap 28 Still Life January 4 Mobiles 11 Clay 18 Mosaic 25 Stain Painting February 1 Op Art 8 Metal Tooling Valentines 15 Art Boxes
Target Family Sundays: Black History Month Sun, Feb 22, 12–4 pm Experience the colorful influences of African culture on everyday American life. Create and enjoy traditional and contemporary African crafts, storytelling, drawing workshops, music, and more. Sponsored by Additional support provided by Assurant Health.
Story Time in the Galleries Saturdays, Dec 20, Jan 24, Feb 28, 10:30 am Join us each month to hear a story relating to an artwork in the Museum’s Collection galleries, before creating your own artful drawing to take home. Free ArtPacks Every Saturday and Sunday, 10 am–4 pm Keep the whole family looking, laughing, and discovering great works of art with these self-guided activity packs.
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happenings | programs + events
Adult Classes (ages 16 and up) Portrait Drawing 6 Thursdays: Feb 12–Mar 19, 5:45–7:45 pm Looking at Art 4 Thursdays: Feb 12–Mar 5 1:30–2:30 pm
Kids Classes (ages 6–15) Mixing with the Masters Saturdays: Dec 13 (Münter), Feb 21 (Lievens) 10:30 am–12:00 pm Drawing in the Galleries: Portraits 8 Thursdays: Feb 5–Mar 26, 4:30–6:00 pm
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Visit www.mam.org/learn or call 414-224-3803 for a full listing of classes. Registration is easy! Call 414-224-3803. As always, Members receive discounts on classes. Gift certificates and scholarships are also available.
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happenings | programs + events NORTHWESTERN MUTUAL FOUNDATION PRESENTS
MAM After Dark Jan Lievens on a Jet Plane Fri, Feb 20, 5 pm–midnight
It’s always a spectacle when the Milwaukee Art Museum collaborates with local events-planning organization Cedar Block. Jan Lievens on a Jet Plane, inspired by the Museum’s feature exhibition Jan Lievens: A Dutch Master Rediscovered, pays tribute to the seventeenth-century portrait painter and world traveler—a studio mate of Rembrandt’s hailed for his innovative style. Though nearly four hundred years have passed since the Old Master wielded his artistic prowess, Milwaukee’s best and brightest artists have accepted the challenge to
bring Lievens into the modern age, placing interactive artworks alongside traditional pieces as they consider portraiture’s past, present, and future. The Cedar Block installations will be fully on view beginning at 8 p.m. Coinciding with the monthly MAM After Dark series, this event will also offer music delivered by a variety of DJs, light hors d’oeuvres, a cash bar, DIY studio (where you can make and take your own art), and after-hours access to the newly opened Jan Lievens exhibition. The Museum Store will also be open late.
Tickets $10/Free (and one complimentary drink voucher) for Museum Members.
Advance Tickets Visit www.mam.org
Save the Date! MAM After Dark: Gallery Night Fri, Jan 16, 5 pm–midnight
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MAM After Dark Photo Booth Oct 17, 2008
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happenings | programs + events
Additional Gallery Talks The Finest in the Western Country: Wisconsin Decorative Arts 1820–1900 Tues, Dec 9, 1:30 pm Join guest curator Emily Pfotenhauer for an overview of the furniture, ceramics, textiles, and metalwork created by Wisconsin craftspeople during the nineteenth century.
Visit www.mam.org for a complete listing of programs and details.
A Closer Look at Matthias Stom Tues, Jan 20, 1:30 pm Pause and take a longer look at the seventeenth-century Dutch masterpiece Christ Before the High Priest, with Manager of Adult and Studio Programs Amy Kirschke.
A Trip Down Memory Lane in the 20th-Century Collections Tues, Jan 27, 1:30 pm Don’t miss this next installment of Chief Educator Barbara Brown Lee’s talks, as she shares stories behind works in the renowned twentieth-century collection.
Every weekend enjoy a variety of FREE activities designed especially for the busy family—all of which encourage your child to look closely, see the world a little differently, and give shape to his or her ideas. Drop in for five minutes or stay all day. There’s always something new to see and do.
Family Time in the Galleries Every Saturday, 1–3 pm From sketching to scavenger hunts, every week brings a new adventure. Open Studio Every Sunday, 1–3 pm Try your hand at the art-making used to create the works in the Museum.
Sunday Brunch at Café Calatrava Every Sunday, 11 am–4 pm
Enjoy classic regional breakfast and lunch fare with a modern twist at Café Calatrava, now serving Sunday brunch, weekly, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Allow us to tempt your taste buds with our signature dishes: Steak & Eggs, a Bloody Mary Burrito, Choucroute Garnie, and much more! Check out the full menu online at www.mam.org. Reservations optional, call 414-224-3831. 26
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happenings | programs + events
Say “I Do” at the Museum The icon of Milwaukee is also an elegant, A-list venue—and Knot Magazine’s 2007 Best Pick for Weddings. Located on the lakefront, the Milwaukee Art Museum is the perfect place for your special day. Weddings at the Museum are held in the stunning, cathedrallike space of the Quadracci Pavilion—a triumph of architecture and engineering by world-renowned designer Santiago Calatrava. The white marble floors and expansive space serve as a beautiful stage on which to fashion the event of your dreams. Make your vision a memorable reality—the professional Museum staff is here to help.
2007 Best Pick for Weddings
—Knot Magazine
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Many couples have sealed their commitment to each other beneath the glorious wings of the Museum’s Burke Brise Soleil. Here is what a few of them had to say: Your out-of-town guests will stand in awe and talk about the evening for years to come. Nothing compares to the space the Museum can provide. The blank canvas the space offers is ideal for weddings. Couples can customize the décor to fit their styles. The light during the day plays off the architectural elements, and by night, candlelight creates a distinct mood for elegant weddings. To begin planning your wedding at the Milwaukee Art Museum, contact Anne Radtke at 414-224-3279 or anne.radtke@mam.org.
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happenings | MEMBERSHIP
Member Extras Join a Museum Support Group
Find your niche among one of the Museum’s eight support groups—smaller, socially active communities of Members who share an interest in a particular form of art within the Collection. For more information, call Sandi Anderson at 414-224-3253 or visit www.mam.org. African American Art Alliance For those with an interest in African American art American Heritage Society Stresses colonial to early-twentieth-century art Contemporary Art Society For modern and contemporary art devotees Fine Arts Society Focuses on European art made before 1900 Friends of Art The Museum’s largest fund- and fun-raising group Garden Club Members enjoy flowers and horticulture Photography Council For those with an interest in the art and history of photography Print Forum For collectors, connoisseurs, and makers of prints and drawings
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Special Promotions
(with your membership card) Coquette Café | Receive a free Lakefront Brewery beer with each meal. Pfister Hotel | Enjoy special discounted rates. Cranston Accents | Save 10% on purchases made in December, January, and February.
Museum Store
Member Double Discount Days Thurs, Dec 4, 11, and 18, 10 am–8 pm Be My Valentine Member Jewelry Sale Fri–Fri, Feb 6–13 Members receive 15% off regular-priced merchandise. We ♥ Members Thurs, Feb 12, 5–8 pm An evening of shopping with champagne and chocolate.
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happenings | new media The minisite for Act/React is the most ambitious the Museum has designed to date.
What’s Up Online The minisite for the Act/React: Interactive Art exhibition is the most ambitious the Museum has designed to date. The site features an interactive interface that allows users to browse through a virtual representation of the exhibition. There’s even a series of documentary-style videos, with behind-the-scenes footage of the installation process, artist interviews, and highlights from the Member Preview Celebration. Visit www. mam.org/act today. At the Museum, iPod Touch Tours were successfully unveiled in a pilot program for the grand opening of the reinstalled American Collections Galleries on October 23. Curators at the Chipstone Foundation, who originally envisioned the project, provided audio and visual content for the tour. We are in the process of making revisions to the tour interface to reflect feedback collected during the trial period. Owing to the success of the pilot program, iPods are expected to be available at the admissions desks for visitors to check out soon. We will post details on this exciting program on the website, as they become available. In addition to iPod tours, interactive kiosks and video screens have been installed in the American Collection Galleries. A “word
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cloud” kiosk, for example, accompanies three objects from the American Collections and asks the question: “What word comes to mind when viewing these objects?” As visitors enter their word on the touch screen, it is added to the word cloud projected on the wall behind the objects. This exercise in “social tagging” allows visitors to contribute their own terminology to that used to describe relationships between works of art. Finally, video screens in the galleries show the process of woodworking and ceramics, as well as a film by Chicago artist Theaster Gates. Stop by and explore all the new additions to the American Collections Galleries!
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museum store | smart shopping
Buddha Board
This Zen-inspired art board leaves a clean slate and a clear mind once your drawing dries. $12–$34/$10.80–$30.60 Member
Buddha Bowls
These handmade bowls are featured on Oprah’s “O List” of favorite products. $25/$22.50 Member
Pantone Universe
Add some color to your life. Messenger Bags $82/$73.80 Member Mugs $13/$11.70 Member
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museum store | shop online anytime at www.mam.org/store
Art Bags
These handmade bags come in a variety of images, with shoulder straps and detachable handles. $139–$150 $125.10–$135 Member
Store Happenings Member Double Discount Days Thurs, Dec 4, 11, and 18, 10 am–8 pm After the Holiday Sale Begins Fri, Dec 26, 10 am–5 pm Holiday merchandise 25% off
Audubon’s Birds of America: The Audubon Society Baby Elephant Folio
Artist Birthday Celebrations August Macke Sat, Jan 3, 10 am–5 pm Kees van Dongen Sat, Jan 24, 10 am–5 pm Receive a free gift with your purchase.
By Roger Tory Peterson and Virginia Marie Peterson. All 435 of Audubon’s brilliant hand-colored etchings are found here in exquisite reproductions. Hardcover, 694 pages. $185/$166.50 Member
Be My Valentine Member Jewelry Sale Fri–Fri, Feb 6–13 Members receive 15% off regular-priced merchandise.
Bird Watching Kit
Everything the aspiring ornithologist needs: bird ID cards, folding binoculars, and more. $25/$22.50 Member
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Interactivity to [a] new level —Associated Press
Don’t Miss It! Ends Jan 11, 2009