Overlooking Lake Michigan with its Burke Brise Soleil “wings”, the Milwaukee Art Museum is an architectural landmark of the city. The museum is made up of several buildings, including the War Memorial Building, the Kahler Building, and the distinctive Quadracci Pavilion, designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava in 2001. The steel wings (with the same wingspan as a Boeing 747!) open twice a day at 10 am and noon, and they close for the evening when the museum closes to the public.
Collections
The architecture is a work of art on its own, but the Milwaukee Art Museum has over 30,000 pieces of artwork in its collection, encompassing painting, drawing, sculpture, decorative arts, prints, video art and installations, and textiles It has one of the country’s premier collections of Folk and Self-Taught art and one of the largest collections of works by Wisconsin native Georgia O’Keefe.
Important artists represented include Nardo di Cione, Francisco de Zurbarán, Jean-Honoré Fragonard, Winslow Homer, Auguste Rodin, Edgar Degas, Claude Monet, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Pablo Picasso, Jóan Miro, Mark Rothko, Robert Gober, and Andy Warhol.
Special Exhibits
Currently on display at the museum:
Landfall Press: Five Decades of Printing (October 3, 2019 – February 9, 2020)
Portrait of Milwaukee (September 6, 2019 – March 1, 2020)
A Modern Vision: European Masterworks from the Phillips Collection (November 15, 2019 – March 22, 2020)
Events
MAM After Dark– The last Friday of almost every month, join the museum for a themed night of music, dancing, cocktails, and art. Upcoming themes include: Miami Nights, Masquerade, and Pajama Party.
Art in Bloom– An annual exhibition of stunning floral arrangements inspired by works of art in the museum. There is also a marketplace filled with flowers, art, clothing, jewelry, garden accessories, and more. (April 30 – May 3, 2020)
Dining
The museum has several options for dining:
Café Calatrava serves lunch daily with a menu featuring contemporary cuisine with spectacular views of Lake Michigan.
Windhover Coffee serves locally roasted coffee and fresh pastries.
East End offers grab-and-go and kids fare. On a nice day, take a picnic lunch out on the lawn.
Bonus: After the museum, head to the Milwaukee Public Market and do some shopping in the Historic Third Ward Neighborhood. Then, spend the night at the Iron Horse Hotel, one of our favorites.
Milwaukee Art Museum
700 N. Art Museum Drive
Milwaukee, WI 53202
