Through an inspiring desire to share their love of art, the two longtime donors we remember here helped shape the Museum’s world-class collection.
Jody Goisman
Shoshana Resnikoff, Demmer Curator of 20th- and 21st-Century Design, celebrates Jody Goisman’s discerning eye.
Vibrant, joyful, kind, and funny as all getout—this is how Museum colleagues describe Jody Goisman. A lifelong advocate for modern design, Jody and her husband, Dick, approached collecting as they did everything else in their lives: with passion, dedication, and a wicked sense of humor.
Jody, who passed away in November, began collecting when she and Dick were both students at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Jody related to former Museum curator Monica Obniski that she fell in love with Art Deco even as she fell in love with Dick. On their first date, they visited an antique mall and purchased a first-edition copy of The Savoy Cocktail Book, a 1930s design icon. As she put it, “We were hooked!”
Jody and Dick have supported the Museum for over two decades. Together they funded the position of Demmer Curator of 20th- and 21st-Century Design, endowed the design galleries, and helped acquire transformative acquisitions. A stepdaughter to philanthropist Lawrence E. Demmer, Jody was a dedicated steward of Demmer family giving in Milwaukee and steadfast in her commitment to the Museum as a site of learning and growth. Dick continues to provide support for the design program.
Jody’s eye was impeccable, and she knew patience was the key to bringing art into one’s life. In 2017, she announced her dream acquisition for the Museum: a 1934 streamlined silver tea service by American designer Paul Lobel. In 2021, Jody and Dick found one—patience had paid off! Today you can visit that tea service in the galleries and many other significant works she and Dick acquired for the city of Milwaukee.
Anthony Krausen
Margaret Andera, senior curator of contemporary art, remembers Tony Krausen’s genuine love of art.
“Good art never dies; it simply gets rediscovered!” wrote Tony Krausen in an email to me in spring 2023. Sam Gilliam’s draped canvas painting Carousel Merge 2 (1971) was returning to the contemporary art galleries, and Tony freely expressed his excitement. Sam Gilliam was one of his favorite artists; he had many.
Tony, who passed away in November, impressed his passion for contemporary art upon everyone he met. His interests spanned from minimalism to geometric abstraction, paintings to photographs. Donald Judd’s stacked blue sculpture Untitled (1981), Christopher Wool’s painting Untitled (1990) spelling out “fool,” and Lesley Vance’s abstract Untitled painting (2019–20)—all currently on view—are among the more than 80 artworks in the Museum’s collection because of Tony and Sue Krausen. We’ve also all benefited from the Krausens’ generous exhibition support. Most recently, they were supporting sponsors of the landmark survey 50 Paintings.
Tony was active in the Museum’s Contemporary Art Society support group, serving as its second president, a longstanding Museum trustee, and a valuable member of the Acquisitions and Collections Committee. He could be found engaged in lively conversation about art at the many exhibition openings, artist lectures, and events he and Sue attended. Through their own collecting and the artworks they helped bring into the Museum, the Krausens have touched countless lives and ensured generations will have access to art that will, to use Tony’s words, get rediscovered!
