Presenting a Summer Showcase Featuring Local Artists and a Reflection on America’s 250th Birthday
The Greater Milwaukee Foundation's Mary L. Nohl Fund Fellowships for Individual Artists 2025; After the Empire: American Prints from the Haggerty Collection; Defying Empire: Revolutionary Prints from Britain and America
Image from the Haggerty Museum of Art.
MILWAUKEE — The Haggerty Museum of Art at Marquette University is pleased to announce a Summer season of three exhibitions featuring new works and themes of reflection and commemoration. The Greater Milwaukee Foundation‘s Mary L. Nohl Fund Fellowships for Individual Artists 2025 exhibition spotlights the work of five Milwaukee-based artists whose novel works encompass a broad range of media. After the Empire: American Prints from the Haggerty Collection explores American identity using satire and social commentary to witness and challenge history. Defying Empire: Revolutionary Prints from Britain and America challenges traditional, nationalistic narratives of the American Revolution. All exhibitions will be on view from June 4 through August 1, 2026.
“We’re proud to again partner with the Lynden Sculpture Garden to support the depth of artistic talent, passion, and resources in the community. It is our pleasure to collaborate on the culmination of the Nohl Fellowship, sometimes providing artists with their first museum show.” explains Director John McKinnon.
The Greater Milwaukee Foundation’s Mary L. Nohl Fund Fellowships for Individual Artists 2025, co-presented with the Lynden Sculpture Garden, features new work by established artists Michelle Grabner and Michael Newhall, and emerging artists Sarah Ballard, Margaret Griffin, and Open Kitchen (Rudy Medina + Alyx Christensen). Funded by the Greater Milwaukee Foundation’s Mary L. Nohl Fund, and administered by the Lynden, the Mary L. Nohl Fund Fellowships for Individual Artists provide unrestricted funds for artists selected by a panel of national jurors to create new work or complete work in progress. The program was designed to encourage artists to stay in greater Milwaukee, to evolve as artistic practitioners, and to contribute to our community through the creation of art.
“The 2025 Nohl Fellows were born across the last six decades of the 20th century, and their work reflects a variety of experiences and geographies. In painting, sculpture, and moving images, they tell us something about what it means to be an artist at the end of the first quarter of the 21st.” – Polly Morris, Executive Director of the Lynden Sculpture Garden
Support for this exhibition is generously provided in part by a grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts.
On the occasion of the 250th anniversary of America, After the Empire: American Prints from the Haggerty Collection presents a glimpse into American history following the Revolutionary Era. Featuring work created between 1862 and 2017, the exhibition depicts an array of issues, people, and occurrences that shed light on American identity. The work is wide-ranging in subject matter and style with an overarching focus on social and political commentary. The pieces here carry on practices seen in Defying Empire, in which printed materials are created as a means for igniting public conversation and lampooning, satirizing, and bearing witness to historic events and influential figures.
After the Empire was curated by Lynne Shumow, Curator for Academic Engagement, Haggerty Museum of Art, with assistance from Emma E. Erickson, graduate intern from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Department of Art History.
Support for this exhibition is generously provided by the John P. Raynor, S.J. Endowment Fund and in part by a grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts.
As America celebrates its 250th anniversary, Defying Empire: Revolutionary Prints from Britain and America explores how eighteenth-century prints shaped public opinion and fueled a participatory Revolution. Drawn from the Haggerty Museum of Art and the Chipstone Foundation, this exhibition features over twenty prints, transfer-printed ceramics, and period furniture to frame the era as a transatlantic political exchange.
Works by Paul Revere, William Hogarth, Josiah Wedgwood, and Charles Willson Peale illustrate how images influenced debates on sovereignty and democracy. By highlighting voices ranging from George Washington to politically active women, the exhibition demonstrates how visual media spurred political action and defined the struggle over imperial authority. See full exhibition description here.
Defying Empire: Revolutionary Prints from Britain and America was curated by J. Patrick Mullins, PhD, Associate Professor of History and Public History Director at Marquette University, in collaboration with the Chipstone Foundation and coordinated by Jessica A. Cooley, PhD, Postdoctoral Curatorial and Teaching Fellow, Haggerty Museum of Art.
Support for this exhibition is generously provided by the John P. Raynor, S.J. Endowment Fund and in part by a grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts.
The Summer season celebration begins with an Opening Reception on Saturday, June 13, from 4 to 6 p.m. A July 25 public program will provide an opportunity to hear directly from the Nohl Fellows. All events, festivities, and educational programs are listed with details and registration information on the Museum’s Events page.
Public Programs
The Haggerty Museum of Art’s exhibitions and programs are free, open to the public, and take place at the Haggerty Museum of Art unless otherwise noted.
Saturday, June 13, 4 to 6 p.m.
Opening Reception
Free and open to the public
Register here.
Join us for the launch of our new summer shows. Meet the artists and curators to learn more about their artistic practices.
July 25, 1 to 4 p.m.
Artist presentations by Nohl Fellows
Free and open to the public
Hear from and engage with the 2025 cohort of jury-selected Nohl Fellows. Their eighteen-month journeys in the program included studio visits from curators and expert advice from museum professionals as they developed their works for presentation.
The Museum will be closed June 29 through July 4, 2026 in accordance with Marquette University’s Gift of Time.
About
The Haggerty Museum of Art is located on the campus of Marquette University, adjacent to downtown Milwaukee in the heart of the Near West Side. FREE and open to the public Monday through Saturday, the Haggerty is one of the most accessible arts venues in the city.
The Haggerty Museum of Art at Marquette University is a place where art and ideas come alive—free of charge and open to all. Through innovative exhibitions, arts education experiences, and thought-provoking public programs, we invite both the university campus and the broader Milwaukee community to discover, question, and connect. Working with regional and national artists, collaborating with distinguished faculty across all disciplines, partnering with community organizations, and advancing collections inquiry, the museum is a vital forum for dialogue—to spark reflection, inspire action, and encourage positive change for the greater good.
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.
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