Shelby Keefe’s Pfister farewell

Pfister Shelby Legacy

The Pfister Hotel bid farewell to to Artist-in-Residence Shelby Keefe on Tuesday night with a public reception in the Rouge ballroom that featured the unveiling of Keefe’s awe-inspiring legacy painting, Reflecting on the Day.

The piece will become part of the Pfister’s extensive permanent collection, and will be displayed alongside the legacy painting by 2010-2011 Artist-in-Residence, Katie Musolff, adjacent to the Artist-in-Residence studio. As noted during the reception, the Pfister has added three paintings to their collection in the last 120 years, with Keefe’s being the third. Much of Keefe’s work from the past year in the Pfister was on display in the studio, and gaps on the walls showed that some of these paintings had already found a new home.

Photos courtesy the Pfister Hotel

The warm reception also included the unveiling of Mason Street Grill‘s private label Cabernet, which features Keefe’s artwork on the label. A portion of the wine’s proceeds will benefit Creative Alliance Milwaukee. The wine was served to the evening’s guests, along with complimentary appetizers and cake.

Also at the reception was a canvas for anyone to, as Keefe put it, “share the joys of paint,” and add a few brushstrokes of their own. A digital slideshow of her work from the past year and Keefe’s recently completed 12″ x 12″ paintings for UPAF‘s “Artists Among Us” series were also on display.

Pfister Narrators Julie Ferris and Stacy Michelle Williams spoke at the reception, sharing stories from newly published books, which they stayed to sign. Current Pfister Narrator, Ed Makowski, also read selections of his Pfister-inspired poetry.

The reception was a fitting farewell to the prolific artist, who will be concluding her residency at the end of the month. New Artist-in-Residence, fiber artist Timothy Westbrook, will be moving into the studio space in April.