The Legacy of Terry Coffman

Terrence Coffman. Photo courtesy of Tory Folliard Gallery.

Terrence James “Terry” Coffman, who led the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD) for two decades, died in Highland Park, Illinois on January 15th. His death, at 80, followed a “long and valiant battle with dementia,” according to a obituary published on March 9th.

According to the notice:

Terry was a lovely man whose entire life embodied creativity and the transformative power of art to heal, connect, guide, and deepen one’s understanding of life.

MIAD President Jeff Morin offered this statement to Urban Milwaukee:

Terry Coffman’s belief in the transformative power of education shaped generations of artists and designers at MIAD. Throughout his presidency, he championed the recognition of art and design as an accredited model of higher education, while personally investing in the growth and aspirations of MIAD students. Terry was a dedicated mentor who cared deeply about the success of students and the strength of the creative community in Milwaukee and beyond.

Trained in Washington and Maine, Won Grants

Coffman was trained at the Corcoran College of Art and Design in Washington and the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine. The recipient of two Ford Foundation grants, Coffman arrived as president of MIAD in 1983 and served in that capacity until his 2003 retirement. The school’s origins date to 1920, when Charlotte Partridge and Miriam Frink founded the Layton School of Art. The demolition of the school’s lakefront building for a never-constructed freeway in 1970 and its relocation to Glendale caused enrollment to suffer. A group of seven teachers, led by sculptor Guido Brink, revived it as the Milwaukee School of the Arts in 1974. The institution, rebranded as MIAD, operated from rented space in the Phoenix Building at the time of Coffman’s arrival. Coffman felt that it was time the school found a home of its own.

According to Fred Vogel III, who served on the board in its early years, Coffman told him, “This city needs an art school,” one that should own — not rent — its building. Vogel became friendly with Coffman and commissioned him to paint a portrait of the Vogel home in River Hills. Coffman had done a series of such paintings in Colonial Williamsburg in 1980. The Vogels’ Colonial-inspired home, built in 1964, looked 200 years older and would have fit in with its peers on Duke of Gloucester Street.

MIAD and Historic Third Ward Grew Together

Coffman’s arrival in Milwaukee coincided with the revitalization of the Historic Third Ward, the warehouse district south of downtown that was added to the National Register of Historic Places in April 1984. This led to the creation of BID District 2 in 1987, the organization of the Historic Third Ward Association and establishment of preservation guidelines. At the time, many buildings were underutilized at best, and vacant or abandoned at worst. Today it is the most valuable real estate in the city.

Terrence Coffman. Photo courtesy of MIAD.

In 1989 MIAD paid $2.2 million for a vacant 250,000-square-foot riverfront warehouse building at 273 E. Erie St. Following renovations, the Jane Bradley Pettit building opened in 1992 and has housed the school since then. The exempt structure is now valued at $11 million. The school also operates a dormitory at 250 E. Menomonee St.

But it was Coffman who increased the school’s profile, seeing that it was accredited nationally and expanding its offerings to coincide with the needs of manufacturers, interior designers, furniture fabrication and other specialties, melding academic training with career preparedness. This served students and employers. His “First Year Experience” program has been adopted by other institutions. Today MIAD is ranked among the top 10 private art schools in the nation. Thirty-eight percent of low-income students earn upper-middle incomes following graduation.

As his daughter Cori, herself an artist, noted in a tribute:

Creativity was central to his soul. He embraced new ideas with a rare enthusiasm and optimism, dedicated to helping artists find their voices and hone their talents. During his 20-year tenure as the President of MIAD, he transformed the institution into a four-year accredited college, bringing about national awareness, and played a pivotal role in shaping the Historic Third Ward. His artwork remains in many homes and galleries as a constant reminder of his gift.

Was Artist, Teacher, Musician and Novelist

In addition to running the school, Coffman continued to teach as well as to paint and promoted his art with a dedicated website. He had a solo exhibition at the Charles Allis Museum in 2014. Coffman also exhibited at the Tory Folliard Gallery in 2018 and most recently was shown here at Gallery Night in 2023. He also wrote a collection of short stories. A Van Gogh expert, he wrote a historical fiction novel about imagined journals kept by the Dutch master. He also recorded three albums of original and covered folk tunes, appearing live at venues including Turner Hall and Linneman’s Riverwest Inn.

Following years in Mequon and Jefferson, Wisconsin, Coffman moved to Highland Park in 2019, where he resided until his death.

He said of his subject matter:

I create landscapes of my inner being, my attempt to move into a greater reality … I’m a conduit of sorts. I don’t stand before a subject to copy it. I breathe it in, consume it and let it flow through me onto canvas.

As his family noted in his death notice:

Terry is not just merely missed,
He’s really most sincerely missed.