http://www.mam.org
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Milwaukee Art Museum Artists (8)
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CURRENT EXHIBITIONThe Finest in the Western Country: Wisconsin Decorative Arts 1820-1900
September 11, 2008—January 4, 2009
Exhibition Opening Wisconsin’s nineteenth-century cabinetmakers, potters, weavers, quilters, blacksmiths, and other craftspeople created a diverse range of utilitarian, innovative, and unusual objects. In advertisements, these artisans often described their products as “the finest in the Western Country.” Effective ad copy in any era, this phrase also highlights Wisconsin’s nineteenth-century identity as part of the American West and the dramatic changes that took place as this region transitioned from a frontier territory to a settled state.
From fur trade-era metalwork, to the cabinetmaking traditions of European immigrants, to original art pottery, the works in this exhibition provide the first major survey of decorative arts made in Wisconsin between 1820 and 1900. Showcasing objects from the collections of local historical societies, museums, and individuals throughout the state, many of these examples of furniture, ceramics, textiles, and metalwork have been brought to light through the efforts of the Wisconsin Decorative Arts Database project-an ongoing collaboration of the Wisconsin Historical Society and the Chipstone Foundation to find and document Wisconsin-made decorative arts for a publicly accessible online archive (http://content.wisconsinhistory.org/decorativearts).
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