art and architecture in milwaukee

​The Milwaukee Art Museum, designed by Santiago Calatrava, was on our itinerary from the very beginning. Completed in 2001, the 90-foot-high entrance hall is topped by a moveable sunscreen with a 217-foot wingspan that unfolds and folds twice daily. It is a city landmark, much like the Sydney Opera House. It is breathtaking from every angle. 

​We began our visit with their excellent temporary exhibition, Scandinavian Design and the United States, 1890–1980. It would have been so easy to just fill the gallery with beautiful recognizable work, and yes, there was a lot of Marimekko and Dansk (an American, not a Danish company!). But the exhibit was much more interesting. It included new scholarship on the crucial impact the Scandinavian countries and America had on one another’s material culture. And it looked at the contributions of immigrants to Nordic countries and to the U.S., including faculty at Cranbrook and other art schools. The final section was about designs for sustainability and accessibility, including a Volvo that pioneered three point seat belts. Below, just two of the great woven textiles...

​We stopped to watch the roof fold and unfold at noon with Laura’s friend and former student Amy and ate lunch at the historic Pfister Hotel. We later learned that visiting  sports teams are told that it is haunted. 
 
Back to the museum for the excellent collections of 20th century art, American furniture, and modern design. Much of the German expressionist and American abstract art is the gift of a single donor, Peg Bradley, who had a wonderful eye, great advisors, or both.

Milwaukee has a great program of temporary outdoor sculpture and many of the pieces are acquired by local businesses and installed permanently. Add the sculpture in and around the museum and the lake front is a treat to walk around. The great architecture of downtown helps a lot too.

​We had dinner with Laura’s colleague Julie and her husband Mike, who had provided lots of great advice about traveling in South Dakota and Wisconsin.