History of the Milwaukee Art Museum

Businessman Frederick Layton (American, b. Britain, 1827–1919), established Milwaukee’s first permanent art gallery in 1888. Layton erected a purpose-built Greek Revival building designed by London architects W. J. and G. A. Audsley. Layton provided the gallery with a $100,000 endowment and thirty-eight paintings, many of which remain in the Museum’s care today.

This founding gift to the Layton Art Gallery is a classic example of a history painting by one of the giants of French academic painting in the nineteenth century.

Eastman Johnson was one of Frederick Layton’s favorite artists: Johnson painted a portrait of the collector, and Layton acquired many of the artist’s works.

The hundredth painting to be given to the Layton Art Gallery, in 1890.

Acquired by the Layton Art Gallery in 1891.

Early gifts to the collection included works by Wisconsin artists, especially those, like Mayer, who trained abroad yet returned to Milwaukee to teach.

This early foundational gift was part of the Buckner bequest, which focused heavily on nineteenth-century realist works.

This early foundational gift is a classic example of the work of the Italian painter, Antonio Mancini, known for his loose, expressive brushwork and somber palette.

The Milwaukee Art Institute, on the other hand, became a haven for community arts groups and presented numerous avant-garde art exhibitions. It also forged a partnership with Milwaukee Public Schools to provide art education to the community’s schoolchildren; the Museum continues this partnership to this day. In the 1920s, the Milwaukee Art Institute’s collection continued to grow with important acquisitions.

The architect Eero Saarinen (1910–1961) designed the building, which is shaped like a floating cross, with wings cantilevered from a central base.

Saarinen’s innovative design was a masterpiece of modern architecture and won praise for its dramatic use of space.

The War Memorial Center was dedicated “To Honor the Dead by Serving the Living” on Veterans Day of 1957. The Milwaukee Art Institute and Layton Art Gallery moved into their new quarters, and together became the Milwaukee Art Center.

The collection continued to grow during this period, with important gifts such as Claude Monet’s Impressionist masterpiece.

As well as critical, foundational purchases, such as Francisco de Zurbarán’s Saint Francis of Assisi in his Tomb.

She challenged the community to build an addition to house her extensive collection and donated $1 million toward construction. The challenge was met: in 1975, the Kahler building opened with vastly enlarged galleries.

Donald and Barbara Abert helped grow the Milwaukee Art Center’s collection of twentieth-century art through their interest in the Ashcan Circle and the Eight.

This decade saw a number of important gifts to the collection, including the René von Schleinitz Collection of German and Austrian nineteenth-century painting and decorative arts.

And gifts from the Sheldon M. Barnett Family and Floyd and Josephine Segel Collection of Photography.

Important early works by influential contemporary artists such as Cy Twombly and Sam Gilliam also entered the collection.

In 1980, the Milwaukee Art Center changed its name to the Milwaukee Art Museum.

In 1989, the Museum acquired the Michael and Julie Hall Collection of American Folk Art, establishing the institution as a leading center for folk and self-taught material.

During this time, the Museum collection expanded significantly through the diverse collections given by Richard and Erna Flagg, which featured masterpieces of Haitian art, as well as European sculpture and decorative art.

The Museum also benefited from the addition of the Landfall Press Archive and the Marcia and Granvil Specks Collection of German Expressionist prints.

And the Maurice and Esther Leah Ritz Collection of European and American paintings and works on paper.

Through the Ethel and Richard Herzfeld Foundation, the Museum acquired photographic masterworks from the inception of the medium to the present day.

The contemporary art collection continued to grow with the acquisition of works by Christopher Wool, Cornelia Parker, and Kehinde Wiley.

The Museum received important collections, including the Anthony Petullo Collection of self-taught art, which greatly enhanced the Museum’s holdings by European self-taught artists.

And established itself as a premier center for the study and presentation of twentieth- and twenty-first-century design through gifts and acquisitions from the Demmer Charitable Trust.

The Herzfeld Foundation continued its support of the Museum, establishing the Herzfeld Center for Photography and Media Arts and a study room for works on paper.

And Jim and Susee Wiechmann gifted their collection of more than 500 posters by Jules Chéret.