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Closeup of a dark-skinned woman in a blue headdress with peopel climbing up a hill in the backgroundLarge group of people packed together in an outdoor marketCutouts of various people from magazines and newspapers and layered in front of an urban backdropMatching blue sofa and ottoman with light wood legs

Collection

The Milwaukee Art Museum’s collection is broad and diverse, with works from antiquity to the present. Its history dates to 1888 and reflects the city in which the Museum was built, and the individuals who helped build it. The collection’s more than 32,000 works include paintings, drawings, sculpture, decorative arts, photography, prints, video art, installation art, and textiles.

The Museum’s collection has developed over the years through select purchases, the gifts of local collectors, and the support of the community and generous donors. The Museum’s various areas of collecting boast many strengths, including the particularly noteworthy ones listed here. Continue Reading »

  • American painting, sculpture, and decorative arts, with concentrations of work by the Ashcan School and The Eight and Georgia O’Keeffe
  • Contemporary painting, sculpture, and installation art, especially Minimalism and Neo-Expressionism
  • 20th- and 21st-century design
  • European Baroque painting, sculpture, and decorative arts, as well as 19th-century academic painting
  • Folk and self-taught art, both European and American
  • German art, ranging from Renaissance master clocks and Expressionist artworks to contemporary paintings
  • 20th-century Haitian art
  • Modern painting and sculpture
  • Photography and new media, with particular strengths in documentary, mid-century American, and contemporary works
  • Works on paper, highlighted by a notable collection of French prints from 1600 to 1900

Object information is subject to revision and enhancement based on ongoing research and review. If you notice an error or have additional information about any object in the collection, please contact collections@mam.org.

New Acquisition Highlights

Julia Beck (Swedish, 1853–1935) Nénuphars, ca. 1890

Sky Hopinka (Ho-Chunk Nation/Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians, b. 1984) Fainting Spells, 2018

Joseph Claude Sinel (American, b. New Zealand, 1889–1975) Manufactured by International Ticket Scale Company International Ticket Scale Company (New York, New York) Height and Weight Meter (model S), ca. 1927

Bohemian Decorated by Karl Pfohl (German, 1826–1894) Beaker, third quarter of 19th century

Max Pietschmann (German, 1865–1952) Study of a Model, 1885

Delita Martin (American, b. 1972) Published by Black Women of Print (founded 2018) Star Watcher, from the portfolio Continuum, 2020

Manufactured by Reed & Barton (Taunton, Massachusetts, founded 1824) "Modernist" Compote, 1928

Dorothea Lange (American, 1895–1965) Mended Stockings, San Francisco, 1934, printed 1950s

Probably by Matthew Schmidt (Augsburg, Germany, active 17th century) Covered Beaker, 1670/75

Katharina Grosse (German, b. 1961) Untitled, 2019

View highlights »

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Research

Explore the Museum’s robust historical records, and uncover new discoveries.

Archive Highlights

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From the Blog

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Image:
  • Louïs Mailou Jones (American, 1905–1998), The Ascent of Ethiopia (detail), 1932. Oil on canvas. Purchase, African American Art Acquisition Fund, matching funds from Suzanne and Richard Pieper, with additional support from Arthur and Dorothy Nelle Sanders, M1993.191. Photo by John R. Glembin. © Lois Mailou Jones
  • Laurent Casimir (Haitian, 1928–1990), Crowded Market (detail), 1972. Oil on Masonite. Gift of Richard and Erna Flagg, M1991.117. Photo by Larry Sanders
  • Romare Bearden (American, 1911–1988), The Street (detail), 1964. Paper collage on cardboard. Gift of Friends of Art and African American Art Acquisition Fund, M1996.52. Photo by John R. Glembin. © Romare Bearden/Artist Rights Society (ARS), New York
  • Isamu Noguchi (American, 1904–1988), produced by Herman Miller Inc. (Zeeland, Michigan, founded 1923), Sofa and Ottoman, ca. 1950. Wood, maple laminate, and replaced cotton upholstery. Gift of Gilbert and J. Dorothy Palay, M1990.60.1,.2. Color transparency by Efraim Lev-er. © The Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum, New York/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York