Key Milwaukee

January 2012

An A-Z visitors guide to Milwaukee Wisconsin. Sponsored by Key Magazine Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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Nature and art combine at Lynden Sculpture Garden WINTER IS A GREAT TIME to visit the Lynden Sculpture Garden, located a short drive north of downtown at 2145 W. Brown Deer Rd. The lake is available for ice skating, depending on weather condi- tions, and inside is a new exhibition, Small Sculptures from the Bradley Family Foundation. In every season, though, the main reason for visit- ing the sculpture garden is the collection of more than 50 monumen- tal sculptures sited across park, lake and woodland. The current "indoor" exhibition is on display through Jan. 27. It fea- tures small sculptures by Barney Bright, Mary Callery, Émile Gilioli, Milton Hebald, Sergio Lanzavecchia and James Rosati, and a pastel by Hans Hartung. Peg and Harry Bradley began collecting monu- mental sculpture in 1962 with the purchase of Gerhard Marcks's The Bremen Town Musicians (1951). In the decade prior to that, the Bradleys had been acquiring small sculptures, as well as paintings and works on paper, and Peg Bradley continued to collect small sculpture after she began to actively seek large works for Lynden. As this small sample shows, Peg Bradley collected both figurative and abstract works (sometimes both from the same artist) and was broad-minded about materials; in addition to these sculptures, other works in the collection are made of various metals, stone, glass and plexiglass. Works by several of the artists may also be found in the Bradley Collection at the Milwaukee Art Museum. Winter hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday. With the garden closed on Thursdays and Saturdays until March 11, the facilities are available as a confer- ence and retreat center, and for event rentals. The sculpture garden is owned and operated by the Bradley Family Foundation. The Lynden house and grounds were purchased in 1927 by industrialist Harry Bradley of the Allen-Bradley Company and his wife, Peg Bradley. The Bradleys retained the Chicago landscape architects William Langford and Theodore Moreau to transform the flat farmland, with its small farmhouse and barn, into an English country garden. Further plans to construct a botanical garden on the site were derailed by the outbreak of World War II. From 1962-1978, Peg Bradley—already an experienced art collector—began collecting the contemporary monumental sculptures that secured Lynden's inter- national reputation. The collection includes sculptures by Alexander Archipenko, Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth, Clement Meadmore, Marta Pan, Tony Smith, Mark di Suvero and many others. The house has been transformed using sustainable building prac- tices. Public spaces include a conference room, large classroom/stu- dio, gallery and glassed-in function space overlooking the large patio. The renovated residence is available as a conference and retreat center, and for event rentals. For information, visit www.lyndensculpturegarden.org or phone 414-446-8794. Alexander Liberman, Orbits 31 Henry Moore, Large Torso: Arch Bernard Kirschenbaum, Way Four

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