Carter, Curtis

English

epublications@Marquette

Marquette Universitye-Publications@MarquettePhilosophy Faculty Research and Publications Philosophy, Department of4-25-2013The Layton Collection: MAM RemembersMilwaukee's First Art MuseumCurtis CarterMarquette University, curtis.carter@marquette.eduPublished version. Published in the newspaper entitled "Shepherd Express." April 25, 2013, Art(2013): 26. Publisher Link. © 2013 Shepherd Express. Used with permission.VISUALART I REVI EW F or anyone curious about the hlstory of the visual arts in Milwaukee, the 12Sth anniversary celebra:-tion at the Milwaukee Art Museum affords visitors the opportunity ~o explore this issue. At the center of the festivities in Gallery 10 is an exhibition of works frorn the Frederick Layton Collection. 11le exhibition is hung in salon style, as in their original horne, and contains a selection of sorne 55 European and American paintings by major and minor painters of the late 19th century. American paintings include Eastman John-son'5 signature work The Old Singe Coach (1871), Wmslow Horner's Hnrk llJe wrk (1882) and Asher Durand's In Ihe Cntskills (1857). English works represented in the exhibi-tion include Frederic Leighton's At the Foul/tain (1892-92) and Edward William Cooke's 171e Pilot Boat (1839). (top) Eastman Johnson, The Old Stag_eh, oil on canvas, 361/4 x 60 1/8 in,1871; (bottomi William-Adolphe Bouguereau, Hom.r lind His Guid., oil on canvas. 82 1/4 x 56 1/4 in, 1874; (right) Ga.tano Trentanow, The Last 0' the SpartIIns, marble, 26 1/2 x 791/2 x 27 3/8 in, ca. 1892 Among the notable paintings by French artists are Rosa Bonheur's enigmatic Two Goats (ca. 1870), William-Adolphe Boguereau's Horner nnd His Guide (1874), umdscape (ca. 1870) by Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot and museum vi itors' favorite, Jules Bastien Lepages's Wood Gatherer (1882). Completing the slate are a geographically diverse lot of pairltings by Austri-an, Belgian, Gennan, Hungarian, ltalian, orwegian, Polish, Scottish and Swiss artists, plus two sculptures: Gaetano Treta-nove's 17Je Ulstofthe SparlJlns (ca. 1892) and a bustofLayton by Salvatore F10renti Albano (1889). '" 2 - ElI~ I.EII ~IE flUll1 "'i-Urin '" ll-llUll 1lIIIIIIII1IEn '" D -11m alE. IPOIIIIWI 111. -llnl RIII ADMISSION 1700 1\ 00 MEMBERS IJO IEPIES ms 120 MEMBER\ PASS ODORS OPEN S JO MUSI[ AI5PM [~IH BAR WWW[HARLESALLIS ORG ~14 l7B 8295 1801 N PROIPECl AVENUE -18l0(K NORIH Of BRAOY IIRHl WWW.EHARLE5ALLI5.0RIi 26 1 APRIL 25 , 2013 The collection represents traditionaI aesthetic values, as none of the paintings refleet the "avant-garde" Impression-ists who were emerging during the time the collection was formed . Only one of the artists on display is a. woman artist, again refJecting the state of art collecting at the time the collec-tion was formed. Who was Frederick Layton? LaytOI\ (1827-1919) was the British-bom Milwaukee meatpacking rnagnate who founded the Layton Art Gallery. The gallery opened in 1888 on the cor-ner of M"ason and Jefferson near Cathedral Square. This strik-ing Greek Revival buiJding, designed by London architects W.J. and G. A. Audsley, housed the Layton collection. It repre-sented the beginnings of serious art collecting in Milwaukee. The Layton Gallery served as a principal culturallandrnark in the midst ofMilwaukee's then-thriving industrial complex of breweries, brickyards, meatpacking houses, tanneries and shipyards. Perhaps the greatest architecturalsin committed by mid-2Oth century developers in Milwaukee was the demoli-tion of the Layton Gallery in 1958. The land where the mu-seum stood becarne a parking lot. Thankfully, the collection assembled by Layton has fared better as its stewardship has evolved into safer hands through a partnership with the Milwaukee Art Museum. WhiJe not all the paintings in the collection would qualify as masterworks, it is worth noting that a selectiön of the works reinstalled in Gallery 10 turns out to be among the signature pieces of the rnuseum's entire collection. r------, Specializing in Natural & Non-Toxie Pet Foods I ~~ $2.00 OFF purchase of I $25.00~~1 ae5tof l We also (:arTY a wide variety ot ~ .... I vitami~, oiIs, coIaJs,~, :!2..0jQ I toys. treats, and more! _ ...... _ IThe Natural Pet I I 2532 E. Oklahoma Ave. I . BayView I 414.482.PETS (7387) I Gift Certificates Available! E\1 r\trjJ\ Yue~· ~r 1crn 8 . 1: ,l'''-CC'''''~ • Sjl ~\L' :- .... -:;0 SHEPHERD EXPRESS 

The Layton Collection: MAM Remembers Milwaukee\u27s First Art Museum

https://epublications.marquette.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1315&amp;context=phil_fac

The Layton Collection: MAM Remembers Milwaukee\u27s First Art Museum

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

epublications@Marquette