Milwaukee Art Museum
Photo: Flickr — CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Located on Milwaukee’s lakefront, the Milwaukee Art Museum houses over 32,000 works, including American, modern, contemporary, and European art, as well as photography and new media.
Planning your visit
The Milwaukee Art Museum is known first for its building, and specifically for one moving part. Santiago Calatrava's 2001 Quadracci Pavilion carries a brise soleil — a 90-tonne sunscreen of steel fins spanning some 66 metres — that opens each morning, closes at night, and shuts in high winds, resembling a bird's wings over the lakefront. Crowds gather for the timed openings.
The collection behind it runs to over 32,000 works: American art with strong holdings of Georgia O'Keeffe, whose Wisconsin origins the museum emphasises, German Expressionism, folk and self-taught art including the Flagg collection of Haitian work, European old masters, photography and new media.
The lakefront setting on Lake Michigan is part of the experience, with the pavilion's glass hall looking straight out over the water.
Allow two to three hours. Bookable options include art and architecture tours with a docent historian, which suit a building this deliberately theatrical. Current availability is shown below.
Before you book
Where is Milwaukee Art Museum?
Milwaukee Art Museum is in Milwaukee, United States. The map on this page marks its exact location.
How long should I allow for Milwaukee Art Museum?
Allow two to three hours. That is the time the collection itself takes at an unhurried pace, before any queue.
Do I need to book Milwaukee Art Museum in advance?
Tickets can be bought on the door at quiet times, but booking ahead fixes the date and avoids the queue at busy ones. Live availability is shown on this page.