Milwaukee Art Museum, Art museum in Milwaukee, US
Milwaukee Art Museum is an art museum on the shore of Lake Michigan, housed in a white steel structure that holds around 25,000 works spanning multiple periods. The architecture combines modern lines with open interior spaces where paintings, sculptures, and decorative objects are displayed.
Frederick Layton and local artists founded the museum in 1888, initially housed in a smaller building near downtown. Architect Santiago Calatrava designed a new wing in 2001, expanding the exhibition space and adding the now-recognizable steel entrance pavilion.
Local families often visit the galleries featuring German Expressionist works and American decorative arts, where they reconnect with familiar styles and regional themes. School groups move through the collection rooms, pausing before canvases by Georgia O'Keeffe and Pablo Picasso to discuss bold colors and innovative forms.
The galleries open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with Friday hours extended to 8 p.m., and holiday schedules may vary. Visitors enter through the main lakefront entrance, which provides access to all exhibition levels and special collection rooms.
A movable sunscreen with metal fins opens and closes like wings above the entrance pavilion, forming a kinetic element visible from the lakefront. On clear days, the fins extend outward to let daylight into the hall below.
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