We invite you to join us as each curator focuses on a single work of art, exploring both that object and how the object speaks to the collection as a whole, as well as to the chosen theme in particular.
In this first iteration, we have been examining the notion of still life as it has been treated in artwork across time.
The last Collection Reflection video featured curator Brandon Ruud on a still-life painting by Severin Roesen. Margaret Andera concludes this series of conversations around still life with the work that she has selected to discuss, Laid Table (Still Life with Metal Pitcher) by Beth Lipman.
A museum’s collection is, by its very nature, carefully organized, its objects categorized by geographic origin, medium, chronology, and other defining characteristics. However, works of art have many qualities that defy these traditional institutional divisions. Through this series of videos, we examined these broader elements, seeking commonalities and new ways of connecting the works in the Museum’s collection.
See all the videos on the other works in this series here.
Margaret Andera is interim chief curator and curator of contemporary art. She has been with the Milwaukee Art Museum for more than 25 years and has facilitated numerous important acquisitions of contemporary and self-taught work for the collection.