For your viewing pleasure, here is an image of a fave work of art. Circa ’48, it was taken by a local guy who specialized in photos of dancers. His name has been lost to history. If you recognize the image, let me know.
To downsize or not? In my case, I’ve collected art, mostly by artists from Wisconsin, for over thirty years, and let me tell you it adds up and gets to the point where I store it under beds, in closets and anywhere space allows. The bulk of it went to the collection at Carroll University a decade ago, and recently, I gifted the Racine Art Museum with two really nice works purchased from Dean Jensen Gallery, plus an amazing Francis Ford portrait. It does my heart good to know the art will be in good hands down there in the land of kringle. The Milwaukee Art Museum has a superb photograph I purchased a few years ago and gave directly to them, though actually I sometimes yearn for it, as I do for a photograph (“Young Man Smoking”) that I bought from Tom Bamberger. I gave it to Carroll University where it was promptly stolen off the wall. Someone has excellent taste.
What I need is 40 acres, something like The Lynden Sculpture Garden northwest of here on Brown Deer Road, though I only have one sculpture….a beaver “chew” (yes, a beaver really chewed it) by Riverwest artist, David Niec.
But I digress.
Earlier this year, I hired Grava Gallery to install a “wall of photographs” in my living room, so it isn’t as if I’ve dumped everything I enjoy. I haven’t, but I already know which of my fine photographs are going where. A fortunate venue will get a Francis Ford or two, two Julie Lindemann & John Shimon photographs, a trio of Kevin Myazaki beauties, and a William Klein to die for. Except for Klein, they are all local talents, people I’ve known for decades. I take care of my friends and they take care of me.
Recently my son asked if I remembered the heavy art-glass ashtray that sat on our fruitwood coffee table when he was a Brookfield kid with a 60s Beatles haircut. I found one at Riverview Antiques, and though it isn’t an exact duplicate, it’s close enough and he’ll love using it for the expensive cigars (he calls them “sticks”) he smokes. Riverview has a tsunami of all kinds of art (please, don’t call it “used”)…vintage, contemporary, etc. and many of the works are by artists I’ve had the good fortune of knowing. There are some real duds though, but if you have a good eye for art, you can score an early Fred Stonehouse or a James Kloiber (contemporary). A year ago I bought a gorgeous marble sculpture (“Wave”) by Susan Falkman. A huge selection of jewelry from the collection of art maven, Ellen Checota, reigns in a case at Riverview, so apparently she too is downsizing, and is it true that she and her spouse Joe are now living, at least part time, in the University Club Tower? In her hey-day, Ellen was a bona-fide art queen and a major supporter of Russell Bowman when he headed the Milwaukee Art Museum.
Is anyone out there interested in a huge print by Charles Dwyer? Or a Liz Bachuber sculpture devised from a cooking strainer and hand-made bird’s nest? You remember Liz don’t you? Let’s do a deal. Interested in a painting of an ear of corn? I have one by Schomer Lichtner and it is much better work than his ballerina & cow paintings which are way too silly for my tastes.
My condo building will be busy this week, what with families arriving from hither and yon for Thanksgiving. Celebs pass through our lobby, so perhaps I’ll see Oprah or Willie Davis. My son wrote that he played a round of Scottsdale golf with Robin Yount a few weeks ago. Yount & bride live in a condo building over by the Milwaukee River, west of me, and the former Brewer has quite a bit to say about New Land Enterprises’ shoddy workmanship, but that’s practically an old story now that Boris and crew have all but disappeared….the historic house (Goll Mansion) they were going to transform into a hi-rise (the Transera) has been turned over, in lieu of foreclosure, to Associated Bank. Hear tell a few of the residents here are banding together to possibly buy it from Associated, thus protecting themselves from the horrors of having their lake views blocked. This should be interesting. Indeed. Unfortunately, the damage has been done on Downer Avenue, once a thriving street where now looms a monstrosity of a parking garage anchored by a tenant….Associated Bank.
