Milwaukee Art Museum Presents “The Bradley Collection of Modern Art: A Bold Vision for Milwaukee”

MILWAUKEE, WI—May 28, 2025—The Milwaukee Art Museum is proud to announce The Bradley Collection of Modern Art: A Bold Vision for Milwaukee, a landmark exhibition honoring the extraordinary gift that shaped the institution’s collection and the city’s cultural landscape. The exhibition marks the 50th anniversary of Mrs. Harry Lynde “Peg” Bradley’s gift, which brought to Milwaukee nearly 400 twentieth-century masterpieces by icons of modernism including Barbara Hepworth, Georgia O’Keeffe, and Andy Warhol, among many others. The exhibition opens to the public on September 26, 2025, in the Museum’s Baker/Rowland Galleries.

“Peg Bradley’s philanthropy and transformational gift of art were demonstrations of faith in the museum and its future impact on the people of Milwaukee,” said Marcelle Polednik, PhD, Donna and Donald Baumgartner Director. “She set an example of how one person’s generosity can shape both an institution and a community.”

Peg Bradley was a prominent Milwaukee-based philanthropist and prolific art collector, who followed her intuition and personal taste to collect widely. Between 1950 and 1975, she built an outstanding and substantial collection, acquiring colorful, expressionistic paintings, sculptures, and works on paper. Though her art world connections grew nationwide and overseas through the years, her philanthropic efforts remained local. In the mid-1970s, Peg Bradley honored her late husband Harry’s civic pride in Milwaukee and kept the world-class collection in their hometown. Her remarkable gift enriched the Museum’s collection and prompted the construction of a new wing with dedicated galleries, cementing Milwaukee as a leading cultural destination for modern art.

“The Bradley collection reflects the woman who assembled it: vibrant and colorful,” said Elizabeth Siegel, Chief of Curatorial Affairs. “Fifty years after the private collection became a public good, generations of Milwaukeeans still appreciate and benefit from Peg Bradley’s gift to the Milwaukee Art Museum and its transformational effect on the city she called home.”

The exhibition explores themes central to Peg Bradley’s collecting philosophy—including contributions made by women artists and bold colors and forms—and highlights her strong holdings of German Expressionism, postwar abstraction, and modern sculpture. It presents nearly 100 works of art by Helen Frankenthaler, Alex Katz, Gabriele Münter, Pablo Picasso, and Mark Rothko, among other renowned artists, and offers audiences a fresh perspective on the revered collection. Visitors will experience these iconic artworks like never before as many will be on display following recent conservation treatments and historically enhanced framing.

Many of the artworks Peg Bradley gifted are among the Museum’s great treasures and continue to be visitor favorites. Highlights in the exhibition include:

• Two Piece Marble (Rangatira) (1968–69) by Barbara Hepworth, made in the last decade of the artist’s life, combines Hepworth’s early love for and use of marble with the visual language she developed later in her career.
• Sunny #4 (1971) by Alex Katz, adored by museumgoers of all ages, depicts man’s best friend with long hair, big ears, and a pink tongue in tall grass by a beach.
• Portrait of a Young Woman (1909) by Gabriele Münter is one of 11 paintings made by the artist and collected by Peg Bradley, distinguishing the Milwaukee Art Museum as home to the most extensive collection of Münters outside Germany (now 14 paintings).
• Poppies (1950) by Georgia O’Keeffe enriched Peg Bradley’s collection of O’Keeffes by adding to its substantial holdings an iconic flower painting for which the artist is renowned.
• Campbell’s Soup (1965) by Andy Warhol—one of many works by the artist in the Museum’s collection—is among the most recognizable works of art from the Pop Art movement.

To complement the exhibition, the Museum will host gallery talks and Expert Series programs, among other events, to engage visitors. Furthermore, audiences can learn about Peg Bradley and her collection from the exhibition’s accompanying catalogue. Featuring pieces contributed by a group of international experts, including the Museum’s Marcelle Polednik, PhD; Elizabeth Siegel; Nikki Otten; and Catherine Sawinski; the catalogue shares new scholarship and provides deeper insights into the works of art on view.

Gallery Talks
October 10, 2025
November 15, 2025
December 12, 2025
January 17, 2026

Expert Series
October 16, 2025
January 15, 2026

Exhibition Details
Dates: September 26, 2025–January 18, 2026
Location: Baker/Rowland Galleries in the Milwaukee Art Museum
Art:Forward Gala: September 20, 2025
Member Preview: September 24–25, 2025

Sponsors

Presenting Sponsors
Astor Street Foundation
David and Julia Uihlein
Lynde B. Uihlein

Leadership Sponsors
Jane Bradley Pettit Foundation
Milwaukee Art Museum’s Friends of Art

Supporting Sponsor
Rockwell Automation

Contributing Sponsor
Thomas Hesselbrock and Carl Spatz

The Milwaukee Art Museum extends its sincere thanks to the Visionaries
Mark and Debbie Attanasio
Donna and Donald Baumgartner
Murph Burke
The Helmerich Trust
Kenneth and Alice Kayser
Joan Lubar and John Crouch
Joel and Caran Quadracci
Sue and Bud Selig
Jeff and Gail Yabuki

About the Milwaukee Art Museum

The Milwaukee Art Museum is an essential destination for art and architecture and a vital cultural resource that connects visitors to dynamic art experiences and one another. Housed in iconic buildings by Santiago Calatrava, Eero Saarinen, and David Kahler on a 24-acre lakefront campus, the Museum is Wisconsin’s largest art institution and home to both broad and deep collections, with exceptional holdings in American painting, sculpture, and decorative arts; conceptual and minimalist art; prints and drawings; European art from the Renaissance through the nineteenth century; photography and new media; modern and contemporary design; folk and self-taught art; and twentieth-century Haitian art. A bold symbol of Milwaukee’s ambition and forward-thinking vision, the Museum is a place for community building, education, and celebration that fosters creativity, free speech, and critical discourse for audiences of all ages and backgrounds. For more information, visit mam.org.

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.