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Milwaukee Art Museum

Museums ·Milwaukee ·Closed
4.811.6K
#1Museums in MilwaukeeTravelers' Choice 2025
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About

Milwaukee Art Museum is Wisconsin’s largest art museum, on the shore of Lake Michigan at the end of Wisconsin Avenue in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

More photos 8

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Milwaukee Art Museum — The museum’s sculptural white roof and ribbed wings beneath a blue sky Andrew C. from Flagstaff, USA · CC BY 2.0 · edited
Milwaukee Art Museum — The museum’s sculptural white roof and ribbed wings beneath a blue skyMilwaukee Art Museum — Aerial view of the museum complex along Milwaukee’s lakefrontMilwaukee Art Museum — A gilded sculptural artwork displayed inside the museumMilwaukee Art Museum — Illuminated sculptural forms in a dark museum galleryMilwaukee Art Museum — Historic Judge Jason Downer House, home to the museum’s research centerMilwaukee Art Museum — Geometric lawns and clipped hedges on the museum groundsMilwaukee Art Museum — Long reflecting channel and formal gardens on the museum groundsMilwaukee Art Museum — Narrow water channel running through the museum’s clipped green gardens

What's on here

Free Day + Celebration: Makers MaKE Free Day + Celebration: Makers MaKE Thursday, 10:00 Special Edition Gallery Talk: George Morrison’s “Landscape” Special Edition Gallery Talk: George Morrison’s “Landscape” Thursday, 15:00 Slow Art Saturday: “The Shakers” Slow Art Saturday: “The Shakers” Saturday, 10:30 Gallery Talk: “The Shakers” Gallery Talk: “The Shakers” Thursday, 12:00 Haberman Local Luminaries Haberman Local Luminaries Thursday, 18:15 Gallery Talk: “Beneath the Surface” Gallery Talk: “Beneath the Surface” Friday, 12:00 MAM After Dark: Sparkle & Shine MAM After Dark: Sparkle & Shine Friday, 19:0015 USD Slow Art Saturday: “Beneath the Surface” Slow Art Saturday: “Beneath the Surface” Saturday, 10:30

Why go

  • One of the largest US collections of works by Wisconsin-born Georgia O’Keeffe.
  • American Ashcan School paintings, German art, folk art and Haitian art.
  • Works by Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso, Frank Lloyd Wright, Mark Rothko and Andy Warhol.

Opening hours

TodayClosedShow all
Monday10:00 – 17:00
TuesdayClosed
Wednesday10:00 – 17:00
Thursday10:00 – 20:00
Friday10:00 – 17:00
Saturday10:00 – 17:00
Sunday10:00 – 17:00

Don't miss

  • Burke Brise SoleilThe movable sunshade of Santiago Calatrava’s Quadracci Pavilion opens to a 66-metre wingspan.Atop the Quadracci Pavilion.
  • Windover HallThe pavilion’s central reception hall rises 27 metres beneath a glass roof.Quadracci Pavilion.

Know before you go

  • Personal photography is allowed without flash, stabilizers or tripods.

What's inside

  • The Quadracci Pavilion contains an auditorium, exhibition space and a shop.
  • The 2015 expansion added galleries for light-based media, photography and video installations.
  • The museum includes Lakeshore Café.

With kids

  • Children aged 12 and under receive free admission.
  • Children can paint under a teacher’s instruction in Kohl’s Art Studio.
  • Pick up free Family Guides and Museum Moments Cards at the ArtPack Station.
  • Families can borrow picture books, drawing SketchPacks, costumes and ArtPacks for exploring the galleries.
  • Strollers are allowed in the galleries; wagons must be left in the coatroom.

Tips for your visit

  • The wings open and close with the museum, weather and wind permitting; sensors close them when winds exceed 37 km/h.
  • The East Lawn is accessed from the Oak Leaf Trail.

Tours and audio guides

Mobile audio guides
Free · use your own device and headphones

Interesting facts8

1/8
  1. 35,000 works

    The museum holds nearly 35,000 works and has 13,900 square metres of exhibition space.

    Milwaukee Art Museum - Wikipedia
  2. 2004

    The Quadracci Pavilion received an international structural engineering award for best structure in 2004.

    Milwaukee Art Museum - Wikipedia

  3. The museum researches the ownership history of artworks, especially those that may have been in continental Europe during the Nazi era.

    Milwaukee Art Museum | Visit
  4. 2008

    The Quadracci Pavilion appears in the 2008 video game Need for Speed: Undercover and the film Transformers: Dark of the Moon.

    Milwaukee Art Museum - Wikipedia (part 2)
  5. 2011

    Aerial shots of the museum open the 2011 comedy film Bridesmaids.

    Milwaukee Art Museum - Wikipedia (part 2)
  6. 1916

    The museum’s research library, founded in 1916, was combined with its archives and manuscripts in a research center in 2017.

    Milwaukee Art Museum - Wikipedia
  7. 50,000 young

    Its art education program serves more than 50,000 young people each year through programs, tours and internships.

    Milwaukee Art Museum | History

  8. Frederick Layton endowed the new gallery with $100,000 to acquire artworks and displayed part of his collection there.

    Milwaukee Art Museum - Wikipedia

Shorts

History

Under Charlotte Partridge, who led the Layton Art Gallery from 1922, the gallery developed its contemporary-art exhibitions and acquisitions. The Milwaukee Art Institute hosted community arts groups and presented avant-garde exhibitions in the 1920s and 1930s.

  1. 1888Frederick Layton opened the Layton Art Gallery, designed by George Ashdown Audsley. The Milwaukee Art Association was also founded that year.
  2. 1911The Milwaukee Art Association moved into a building beside the Layton Art Gallery; it later became the Milwaukee Art Institute.
  3. 1957The Layton Art Gallery and Milwaukee Art Institute combined their collections at the Eero Saarinen-designed Milwaukee County War Memorial.
  4. 1975The David Kahler Building opened to house the Bradley Wing and other galleries. A gift from Margaret (Peg) Bradley added more than 600 modern European and American works.
  5. 1980The Milwaukee Art Center took the name Milwaukee Art Museum.
Show all
  1. 2001Santiago Calatrava’s Quadracci Pavilion opened on 4 May, adding galleries and an auditorium.
  2. 2015A two-storey expansion opened in November, adding exhibition space, an atrium and a lake-facing entrance.

How to get there

  • On footThe main entrance is at 700 N. Art Museum Drive. Other building entrances are from Reiman Bridge and the underground parking garage.
  • On footThe café entrance is off the Oak Leaf Trail, weather permitting.
  • On footThe East End entrance is on the north side of campus by the lakefront.

Accessibility

  • Step-free access Elevators connect to the Reiman Pedestrian Bridge.
  • Lifts Elevators serve all museum levels.
  • Wheelchairs Manually operated wheelchairs are available at the admissions desk.
  • Restrooms Gender-neutral and family restrooms are on the Café and Entrance levels.

Sources: Milwaukee Art Museum - Wikipedia · Milwaukee Art Museum - Wikipedia (part 2) · Milwaukee - Wikivoyage (see) · Milwaukee Art Museum · Milwaukee Art Museum | Visit · Milwaukee Art Museum | History · Milwaukee Art Museum - Wikipedia · Milwaukee Art Museum - Wikipedia · checked 29 Sep 2026

Where
700 N Art Museum Dr Museum Store, WI, Milwaukee
Website
mam.org/

Plan from here: A day out →

Questions and answers

Can I buy tickets online to the Milwaukee Art Museum?

Yes, through the museum’s own website.

Has the Milwaukee Art Museum appeared in films or games?

The Quadracci Pavilion appears in Need for Speed: Undercover and Transformers: Dark of the Moon. Aerial views of the museum open Bridesmaids.

Does the Milwaukee Art Museum have a research library?

Its library was established in 1916 and joined its archives and manuscripts in a research center in 2017.

How did Frederick Layton support the original gallery?

He endowed it with $100,000 to acquire artworks and displayed part of his own collection there.

How extensive is the Milwaukee Art Museum’s youth education programme?

It serves more than 50,000 young people annually through programmes, tours and internships.

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