Junior Docent School Program - Milwaukee Art Museum

Blackmon, Prophet Three Dimensions Folk
Sparrow, Simon Untitled Folk
Thematic Organization
Agriculture and Rural Wisconsin Life
Comments and Questions
Wisconsin is often classified as an agricultural state. In 1850, growing wheat was the
main crop, but farmers often did lumbering in the wintertime. By 1860 corn and oats
were grown and sheep raising and dairy farming began. Cows were raised for meat, and
meatpacking plants grew up. Tanning became a lucrative industry. Important names
were Pfister and Vogel. By 1876, dairy farming replaced wheat as the main type of
farming, and farmers also raised hogs for the meat packers. By 1872, cheese making
was promoted, and in 1890, 1,000 cheese factories produced 53,708,595 pounds of
cheese worth four million dollars.
Rural farm life is often presented as beautiful, but what demands did it make on the
owners and farm workers? They had long hours, physical labor, no vacations, manure,
and vagaries of nature.
Despite long hours and hard work, Wisconsin rural people found time for art. Why?
Everyone wants some kind of decoration, some kind of artistic expression in life. How is
folk art in some ways similar to contemporary art?
Why are there fewer farms now than in the past?
Towns always grow up in farm areas. Why?
Artist Title Location
Chase, William Merritt Gathering Wild Flowers Lower Level
Bonheur, Jules Bulls Main Level
Bonheur, Rosa Goats Main Level
Crawford, Ralston Grain Elevator, Minneapolis Main Level
Curry, John Stuart Landscape with Grouse Main Level
Rauschenberg, Robert Goat Chow, Mink Chow, etc Main Level
Braith, Anton Heifers at Play von Schleinitz
Voltz, Friedrich Cow Herd at Lake Starnberg von Schleinitz
Von Drefregger, Franz The Prize Horse von Schleinitz
American Found Object Rocking Chair Folk
American Weathervanes (cow, rooster, etc.) Folk
American Folk Art Animals Folk
American Flowers and Urn Quilt Folk
Grandma Moses Untitled Folk
Johnson, Sally Needlework Sampler Folk
Villon, Jacques Apple Trees at Canny Bradley
Villon, Jacques Large Mower with Horses Bradley
Vlaminck, Maurice The Wheat Field Bradley
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JDSP – Docent Packet
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