Categories
Art Collection Contemporary Local Artists Membership

Reginald Baylor and the Museum’s Collectible Member Mug

Man sketching a woman's head on paper
Image courtesy of Reginald Baylor Studio.

This year, the Milwaukee Art Museum was pleased to work with artist and Milwaukee-area native Reginald Baylor for its annual Member mug. The mug features a detail of his painting On Duty, Not Driving, which is part of the Museum’s collection and currently on view.

I recently took the opportunity to ask Baylor a few questions, including some about the painting.

Categories
Art Behind the Scenes Collection Curatorial European

The Neapolitan Crèche: A Holiday Tradition

Woman holding a baby surrounded by people, angels, and goats
Naples, Italy, “Nativity Scene (Crèche)”, mid-18th century. Polychromed terracotta, painted wood, and fabric, on a later support. Dimensions variable. Gift of Loretta Howard Sturgis, M2006.9.1-.20. Photo by John R. Glembin.

Although this year we cannot gather at the Museum to see the Neapolitan crèche in the European galleries, an annual tradition for many, it is still possible to appreciate the joy this special tableau brings.

Categories
Art Behind the Scenes Collection Curatorial European

Crèche Redux: A Storyboard

Woman holding a baby surrounded by people, angels, and goats
Naples, Italy, “Nativity Scene (Crèche)”, mid-18th century. Polychromed terracotta, painted wood, and fabric, on a later support. Dimensions variable. Gift of Loretta Howard Sturgis, M2006.9.1-.20. Photo by John R. Glembin.

Back in early 2018, Tanya Paul, Isabel and Alfred Bader Curator of European Art, proposed that the Museum again install its Nativity scene, or crèche, in the galleries for the holidays. The work, a visitor favorite, hadn’t been on view since 2013, because the setting for the Holy Family and other figures was worn and needed repair—such stage sets are often fragile constructions that require replacing. The Museum’s setting needed either to be restored or refabricated. The decision was made to make a new stage set, and a group of us, from the Conservation department and the preparatory staff, started to explore the possibilities.

Categories
Art Collection Curatorial European

The Neapolitan Crèche

Woman holding a baby surrounded by people, angels, and goats
Naples, Italy, “Nativity Scene (Crèche)”, mid-18th century. Polychromed terracotta, painted wood, and fabric, on a later support. Dimensions variable. Gift of Loretta Howard Sturgis, M2006.9.1-.20. Photo by John R. Glembin.

Around December each year the Museum places its beloved Neapolitan crèche in the galleries. I invite you to read on to learn more about it, and about the history of restaging the Nativity scene.

Categories
Art Art News Collection Curatorial Membership Prints and Drawings

Happy 40th Anniversary Print Forum

People riding into a party on horseback
Warrington Colescott, I Ride with the Blue Riders. We Visit die Brücke Picnic and Enjoy a Bratwurst, Reminding Me of Summer in Milwaukee, from the portfolio My German Trip, 1992. Color soft-ground etching, spit bite bitumen aquatint, and color relief; plate: 11 13/16 × 13 7/8 in., sheet: 14 11/16 × 20 in. Purchase with funds from Print Forum, M2006.38.9. Photo by Michael Tropea. © Warrington Colescott
People riding into a party on horseback
Bratwurst, Reminding Me of Summer in Milwaukee, from the portfolio My German Trip, 1992. Color soft-ground etching, spit bite bitumen aquatint, and color relief; plate: 11 13/16 × 13 7/8 in., sheet: 14 11/16 × 20 in. Purchase with funds from Print Forum, M2006.38.9. Photo by Michael Tropea. © Warrington Colescott

Nearly forty years ago, in 1981, a group of twelve Museum Members with an interest in prints and drawings established Print Forum. George Evans and Kent Anderson served as the group’s first president and vice-president, respectively. One of the Museum’s nine currently active support groups, Print Forum is among the longest standing.

Categories
Art Collection Curatorial European Library/Archives

A Painting, a Director, and the Mexican Film Industry

Francisco de Zurbarán, Saint Francis of Assisi in His Tomb, 1630/34. Oil on canvas. Purchase, M1958.70. Photo by John R. Glembin.
Man in brown hooded robe looking down at a skull in his hands
Francisco de Zurbarán, Saint Francis of Assisi in His Tomb, 1630/34 (detail). Oil on canvas. Purchase, M1958.70. Photo by John R. Glembin.

When I returned to the Milwaukee Art Museum after the state’s Safer at Home order, one of the first things I did was visit an old friend: Saint Francis of Assisi in His Tomb (1630/34) by the Spanish artist Francisco de Zurbarán. I’ve walked by the painting nearly every workday in my time at the Museum, but never have I been more appreciative of its quiet contemplativeness and the sense of stability it brings me. Indeed, the painting is such a fixture of the Museum that it is hard to imagine that it was ever not here, that it lived in three different countries, across two continents, before arriving in Milwaukee.

Categories
Art Collection Collection Reflection Contemporary Curatorial

Collection Reflection: Curator Margaret Andera on Beth Lipman

Various glassware stacked and laid out on top of a short, black, wooden table
Beth Lipman, Laid Table (Still Life with Metal Pitcher), 2007. Blown, sculpted, lamp-worked, and kiln-formed glass on wood table. 85 × 103 × 96 in. (215.9 × 261.62 × 243.84 cm). Purchase, Jill and Jack Pelisek Endowment, Jack Pelisek Funds, and various donors by exchange M2009.48. Photo credit by John R. Glembin © Beth Lipman
Various glassware stacked and laid out on top of a short, black, wooden table
Beth Lipman, Laid Table (Still Life with Metal Pitcher), 2007. Blown, sculpted, lamp-worked, and kiln-formed glass on wood table. 85 × 103 × 96 in. (215.9 × 261.62 × 243.84 cm). Purchase, Jill and Jack Pelisek Endowment, Jack Pelisek Funds, and various donors by exchange M2009.48. Photo credit by John R. Glembin © Beth Lipman

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.

Categories
Art Collection Curatorial European

From the Collection: Portrait of Henry VII of England

Probably after Meynnart Wewyck, Henry VII of England, 1504/09. Bequest of Catherine Jean Quirk, M1989.63. Photo by P. Richard Eells.
Man with medium-length hair wearing a black hat and a red and yellow robe
Probably after Meynnart Wewyck, Henry VII of England, 1504/09 (detail). Bequest of Catherine Jean Quirk, M1989.63. Photo by P. Richard Eells.

English history can appear to be a long list of kings and queens with the same names. The queen that most of us are familiar with today is Queen Elizabeth II. The first and only other Queen Elizabeth ruled from 1558 to 1603.

Categories
Art Collection Education Modern Studio at Home

Kohl’s Art Generation Studio at Home: Paint and Pour

Abstract paint strokes of black, blue, and red on a white background
Helen Frankenthaler, Hotel Cro-Magnon, 1958. Oil on canvas. Gift of Mrs. Harry Lynde Bradley M1966.153. © 2010 Helen Frankenthaler / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Abstract paint strokes of black, blue, and red on a white background
Helen Frankenthaler, Hotel Cro-Magnon, 1958 (detail). Oil on canvas. Gift of Mrs. Harry Lynde Bradley M1966.153. © 2010 Helen Frankenthaler / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

When you look at the painting below, what do you see? American artist Helen Frankenthaler (1928–2011) was an Abstract Expressionist; these artists used line, shape, and color to express themselves.

Frankenthaler invented her own painting technique, which she called “soak staining.” First, she added turpentine to her oil paints to make them thinner (and very runny!). Then, she laid a cotton canvas flat on the floor, and poured, dripped, and brushed the paint onto its surface. Since her canvases were unprimed, or raw, the paint soaked into the fabric.

Categories
Art Collection Contemporary Education Studio at Home

Kohl’s Art Generation Studio at Home: Picturing Pets, Sunny

Gray, long-haired dog sitting in a field by the lake with its tongue out
Alex Katz, Sunny #4, 1971. Gift of Mrs. Harry Lynde Bradley, M1975.143. Photo by John R. Glembin. © 2019 Alex Katz/Artist Rights Society (ARS), New York
Alex Katz, Sunny #4, 1971 (detail). Gift of Mrs. Harry Lynde Bradley, M1975.143. Photo by John R. Glembin. © 2019 Alex Katz/Artist Rights Society (ARS), New York

We commonly refer to dogs as everyone’s best friend, and for me, that’s true. But I have many other best friends, too, including my cat, my rabbit, and some nice people. Each has their own unique personality. Artworks can also have unique “personalities,” or styles. Artistic styles help us explain how artworks look and how they were made. There are many different styles of art.

Alex Katz’s Sunny #4, a larger-than-life portrait of the artist’s dog, is painted in the Pop Art style. Pop artists often used bold lines, flat shapes, and vivid colors in their artworks. Here, Katz used long, straight brushstrokes to paint Sunny’s hair, and for Sunny’s tongue, he painted a flat, pink rectangle.

Let’s make our own drawings inspired by Sunny!