An A-Z visitors guide to Milwaukee Wisconsin. Sponsored by Key Magazine Milwaukee, Wisconsin
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Milwaukee Art Museum brings London treasures to city THROUGH Jan. 13, the Milwaukee Art Museum fea- tures Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Gainsborough: The Treasures of Kenwood House, London, an exhibition of 48 masterpieces, many of which have rarely been seen outside of London. Milwaukee is one of only four stops in the U.S. for the exhibition and the only one in the Midwest. On tour from the Iveagh Bequest collection, most of the paintings have never traveled to the U.S. before. The exhibition was organized by the American Federation of Arts and English Heritage. The Iveagh Bequest collection resides at Kenwood House, a neoclassical villa in London that Scottish architect Robert Adam remodeled in the eighteenth century. Donated to the nation by Edward Cecil Guinness, 1st Earl of Iveagh (1847–1927) and heir to the world's most successful brewery, the collection was shaped by the tastes of the Belle Époque – Europe's equiva- lent to America's Gilded Age – when the earl shared the cultural stage and art market with other industry titans such as the Rothschilds, J. Pierpont Morgan, and Henry Clay Frick. 48 The earl's purchases, made mainly between 1887 and 1891, reveal a taste for the portraiture, landscape and 17th-century Dutch and Flemish works that were typically found in English aristocratic collections. "These artists were inspired by Europe's rich seascapes and landscapes and aristocratic elegance," said Daniel Keegan, director of the Milwaukee Art Museum. "The works are exceptional, sumptuous, and speak to the heart of the 18th-century Golden Age." Visitors are encouraged to use audio tours for this exhibition. Details about the artists and the individu- als and subjects portrayed put the works in perspec- tive and add to the viewing experience. The Milwaukee Art Museum, 700 N. Art Museum Dr., is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sun., with extended hours until 8 p.m. on Thursdays. General admission, which includes all special exhibitions, is $15 for adults and $12 for students over 12, seniors and active military. There is no admission charge the first Thursday of every month (excluding groups). Visit www.mam.org for more information. The exhibition is presented at the Milwaukee Art Museum by BMO Harris Bank, with additional fund- ing from Robert W. Baird & Co., Inc. and Michael Best & Friedrich LLP. Photos courtesy American Federation of Arts. Miss Murray, 1824-26, by Thomas Lawrence (English, 1769–1830), oil on canvas, and Pieter van den Broecke, 1633, by Frans Hals (Dutch, ca. 1581-1666), oil on can- vas.