My Return to Mt. Horeb

Last winter I spent several days at the Mt. Horeb Area Historical Society, where I photographed over 40 objects for the database. They have an extensive and well-documented collection of locally made furniture and textiles, including furniture by Norwegian immigrant cabinetmaker Aslak Lie and coverlets by weaver Molly Nace.

Last week I returned to photograph a group of hand-painted porcelain from a local artist, Hazel Miller Hanneman.

I also photographed a number of other Wisconsin objects that Brian Bigler and Laurie Boyden had unearthed since my last visit, including a powder horn etched by early Mt. Horeb pioneer William Sweet.

I’ll be posting all of these new objects to the database in the new year.

House Museums in Milwaukee

Two weeks ago I visited two major historic house museums in Milwaukee to find out about potential contributions to the database as well as possible object loans for an upcoming exhibition of Wisconsin decorative arts at the Milwaukee Art Museum (more on the exhibit later).

Captain Frederick Pabst Mansion
Most of the interiors and furnishings at the Pabst were designed by the Matthews Brothers Company, a Milwaukee manufacturer. In true Victorian fashion, the Matthews Bros. furnished the mansion in an array of historical styles, from the dark and heavy Venetian Renaissance in the music room to the gilded frills of the French Rococo in Mrs. Pabst’s parlor. The Pabst’s senior historian John Eastberg and curator Jodi Rich-Bartz are interested in contributing to the database and I’ll return in 2008 to photograph some of their furniture.

Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum
Most of the objects at the Villa Terrace are European decorative arts collected by the Smith family, but they do have a major collection of works by Milwaukee metalworker Cyril Colnik. The Colnik collection was reinstalled this summer by Dan Naumann, a professional blacksmith as well as a Colnik expert. The collection is supplemented by an archival collection of Colnik’s drawings, a recent gift from the Kohler Foundation. I’ll be returning soon to work with curator Laurel Turner to document the Colnik collection.

Recent Site Visits: Two Rivers and Beaver Dam

I’m backtracking a bit here to describe two great sites I visited at the end of November.

Washington House Museum, Two Rivers
The first was the Washington House Museum in Two Rivers, one of four sites operated by the Two Rivers Historical Society. The town claims its place in history as the birthplace of the ice cream sundae (a surprisingly controversial stance) and the Washington House includes a a functional ice cream parlor. It was too cold for ice cream that day, so I was off to explore. The museum’s many rooms are packed with all kinds of artifacts–from the kinds of things found at almost every local historical society (children’s toys, kitchenware, military uniforms)–to relics of an area industry (goods manufactured by the Mirro Aluminum Company of Manitowoc)–to truly bizarre art (a carved wooden model of a tragic farm accident). Scattered throughout the museum are quirky labels hand-lettered by dedicated volunteer Walt Vogel.

The ballroom on the second floor of the museum is decorated with impressive murals, painted by unidentified artists in 1906. The paintings, which include Wisconsin landscape scenes as well as an image of George Washington, were recently restored by the Two Rivers Historical Society.

Dodge County Historical Society, Beaver Dam
On my drive back to Madison, I dropped in on the Dodge County Historical Society in Beaver Dam, where I met curator Mary Jane Jacobsen and found some great artifacts, including a large group of porcelain hand-painted by a local artist, a beaded Odd Fellows apron, and two early quilts (dated to the 1850s). I’m planning to return in 2008 to photograph some of these objects for the database.

Wisconsin Object: A Quick Introduction

This blog documents my search for Wisconsin’s objects–the furniture, ceramics, textiles, and metalwork made by Wisconsin artisans and manufacturers and used by Wisconsin people. I work with local historical societies and museums around the state to find these important objects and document them for an online catalog, the Wisconsin Decorative Arts Database.

Each object I add to the database in digital form has a physical home in a larger collection–whether it’s a small town historical society run by volunteers, or a big city public museum with a professional staff, each person and each place I encounter is also part of the story of this search.

To find out more about me, the project, and the organizations that make it possible, check out the About page.