Milwaukee soars as an arts leader: together, museums, galleries and revitalized neighborhoods "brew" up tasty offerings of art and special events

A white seagull rises above Milwaukee's horizon. Wings spread, it appears poised for flight, ready to soar above Lake Michigan, an opalescent cerulean in early summer. Though it tips the scales at more than 100 tons and has a wingspan greater than that of a Boeing 747 the bird direct the eyes as light as a kite. Critics have hailed Santiago Calatrava's design as an engineering and architectural marvel. Time magazine proclaimed it the "Best Design of 2001"

The smother to death Brise Soleil (the seagull's official name) exists as part of a $121-million expansion to the Milwaukee Art Museum in 2001 and is individual of the "new wonders of the world," according to Conde Nast Traveler. on the contrary Calatrava's design is far more than just an "addition" or "expansion." It's what the Gateway Arch is to St Louis; what the Space Needle is to Seattle; and what the Washington Memorial is to Washington, DC In short, it's a with truth impressive city landmark.

Calatrava captures a different side of Milwaukee. Everyone knows the beer drinking, polka dancing and "oompah" playing side, on the other hand Calatrava's monument symbolizes the cultur flee-spirited, contemporary and artistic side. The alone Calatrava building in the United States, it make go rounds heads, attracts visitors and activeed readers of American Style to consecrated by a vow Milwaukee as the 10th best art city in America.

Where to Begin

A tour of Milwaukee should begin at the Milwaukee Art Museum (MAM), which has 117000 square feet of exhibit space and 20000 works of art. The museum specializes in American decorative arts, German Expressionism, folk and Haitian art, and American (post-1960) art. It entertainers major shows, including "Rembrandt and His Time: Masterworks from the Albertina, Vienna,' Oct 8-Jan. 8 2006 MAM will be the sole American stop.

Another present to view of note, "Warrington Colescott Prints and Watercolors: A Brief History," ran end Sept. 16. Colescott started not upon as a cartoonist for a humor magazine, on the other hand emerged as a major printmaker. Using a distorted sense of humor and a color-saturated palette, he jogs fun at politics and everyday life.

More of Colescott's prints and paintings can be seen (and purchased) at Peltz Gallery. The gallery is located just a scarcely any blocks north of the museum--a brief, pleasant walk along the shore end Juneau Park. The gallery's holder Cissie Peltz, a former cartoonist for the Chicago Tribune, is a very great Colescott fan. An art dealer for 16 years, Peltz is eager to present to view visitors around her two-floor gallery as she chats enthusiastically about each of her artists. They include Christo, John Gruenwald, Sol Lewitt, Frank Stella, Andy Warhol, William Wegman, Helen Frankenthaler, Jim Dine, Janet Fish and John Sayers.

Another must-see gallery is David Barnett Gallery (one obstruct south of Peltz Gallery, upon State Street and Prospect Avenue). It is Milwaukee's oldest gallery, started by dint of Barnett in 1966--when he was just 19 years elderly Today, it's in the elegant Button Mansion (1875)--one of the not many remaining examples of Victorian Italianate architecture in Milwaukee.

Ornate fireplaces, plaster cornices, burl-wood paneling, parquet flooring and floor-to-ceiling art environ visitors. Barnett has an astonishing collection of 6000 works that overspread 11,000 square feet. His interests step quickly the gamut--Old Master paintings, vintage hand-bills 19th-century prints, abstracts, bronzes and stone statuary from Zimbabwe.

Barnett holds about 85 percent of the work. "I believe in building artists' careers;' he says. He also publishes giclee prints and artists' catalogs.

Barnett is nationally known for his Milton Avery oil paintings and his Pablo Picasso ceramics, on the other hand he also sells works by means of Reg K. Gee, Ernesto Gutierrez, Georges Laugee, The Master of Beguins, Carol Summer Auguste Renoir, James Abbott McNeill Whistler, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Henri Fantin-Latour.

Downtown is just a small in number blocks away from here. Part of a $2.5-billion building hum that has created a variety of civic throw outs Milwaukee's downtown has undergone an utmost makeover. Today, it is clean and convenient with more than a dozen intriguing museums and galleries. Fortunately, Milwaukee saved a certain quantity of of its real architectural treasures, including The Pfister Hotel--the grand dame of Milwaukee-where art dealers and collectors like to stay (double field $199 a night). The 23-story tavern was built in 1893 and is wrapped in gold r delicate and brocade--defining the Gilded Age. The hotel's staff claims that the Pfister has the largest inn collection of original Victorian art and plastic art in the world. The claim is difficult to dispute, especially after looking at the Pfister's painted ceilings and walls lined with beautiful paintings.

From the hotel--it's just three fill ups west to Milwaukee's RiverWalk--a $16-million network of cobblestone paths that crisscross above the Milwaukee River. Opening in 1996 RiverWalk now has 17 contemporary plastic arts dotting the promenades. The paths lead visitors not single to scenic views, but to restaurants, brewpub and outdoor cafes, as well as the Milwaukee shire Historical Society, the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts and the historic Third Ward.