The Racine Art Museum (RAM) and RAM's Charles A. Wustum Museum of Fine Arts are located in Racine, Wisconsin, U.S. The museum holds the largest and most significant contemporary craft collection in North America, with more than 9,500 objects from nationally and internationally recognized artists. The Racine Art Museum's mission is to exhibit, collect, preserve, and educate in the contemporary visual arts. Its goal is to elevate the stature of craft to fine arts by presenting contemporary crafts alongside paintings and sculptures.

History

Jennie E. Wustum, widow of Charles A. Wustum, died on December 3, 1938, and left their house, property and a small trust fund to the City of Racine, Wisconsin, for the creation of a public art museum and park. The property was on the edge of town, across the street from the J & W Horlicks

malted milk Malted milk or malt powder is a powdered gruel made from a mixture of malted barley, wheat flour, and evaporated whole milk powder. The powder is used to add its distinctive flavor to beverages and other foods, but it is also used in bakin ...

factory. The Italianate mansion was of brick construction with a cupola on top. A city ordinance creating the Wustum Museum and Park Commission was passed in 1940, and in 1941, the property became the Charles A. Wustum Museum of Fine Arts. The museum's grand opening was on November 16, 1941, and Sylvester Jerry was named the first director. The first exhibit was 96 paintings by Wisconsin artists, followed by a collection of contemporary lithographs from the

Redfern Gallery The Redfern Gallery is an exhibition space in the West End of London specialising in contemporary British art. It was founded by Arthur Knyvett-Lee and Anthony Maxtone Graham in 1923 as an artists' cooperative on the top floor of Redfern H ...

in London, and watercolors by

Midwestern The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...

artists. The museum's permanent collection began with a donation of 294

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...

(WPA) artworks including textiles from the Milwaukee Handicraft Project, and paintings, photographs, and block prints from Wisconsin- and New York-based artists. Jerry, who was a supervisor for the WPA Art Program before joining the museum, arranged a 99-year lease for the collection which contained works by artists such as lithographer

Mabel Dwight Mabel Dwight (1875–1955) was an American artist whose lithographs showed scenes of ordinary life with humor and tolerance. Carl Zigrosser, who had studied it carefully, wrote that "Her work is imbued with pity and compassion, a sense of irony, ...

, painter

Rufino Tamayo Rufino del Carmen Arellanes Tamayo (August 25, 1899 – June 24, 1991) was a Mexican painter of Zapotec heritage, born in Oaxaca de Juárez, Mexico.Sullivan, 170-171Ades, 357 Tamayo was active in the mid-20th century in Mexico and New York, ...

, and photographers

Brett Weston Theodore Brett Weston (December 16, 1911 – January 22, 1993) was an American photographer. Life and work Weston was the second of the four sons of photographer Edward Weston and Flora Chandler. He began taking photographs in 1925, while living ...

and

Bernice Abbott Berenice Alice Abbott (July 17, 1898 – December 9, 1991) was an American photographer best known for her portraits of between-the-wars 20th century cultural figures, New York City photographs of architecture and urban design of the 1930s, and ...

. The WPA works continue to be shown in occasional exhibitions, the latest in 2017. In the 1980s, the museum began to focus on crafts by American artists. Karen Johnson Boyd was a major benefactor to the museum donating over 1750 items including 200 objects in 1991 that included works by

Wendell Castle Wendell Castle (November 6, 1932 – January 20, 2018) was an American sculptor and furniture maker and an important figure in late 20th century American craft. He has been referred to as the "father of the art furniture movement" and included ...

, Dale Chihuly,

Lia Cook Lia Cook (born 1942) is an American fiber artist noted for her work combining weaving with photography, painting, and digital technology. She lives and works in Berkeley, California, and is known for her weavings which expanded the traditional ...

Albert Paley Albert Paley (born 1944) is an American modernist metal sculptor. Initially starting out as a jeweler, Paley has become one of the most distinguished and influential metalsmiths in the world. Within each of his works, three foundational element ...

, and Toshiko Takaezu. The high quality of these items encouraged donations from others collectors creating the largest collection of contemporary craft in North America.

Racine Art Museum

In 2000, the museum expanded into downtown Racine by moving into an historic building donated by the M&I Bank of Racine. The renovation of the 1874 bank building, which was designed by Brininstool & Lynch of Chicago, involved the installation of a translucent acrylic shell around the upper two floors of the existing limestone building. The acrylic panels were 18 inches off the surface of the building; they allowed the colors of the limestone to show through during the day and were illuminated at night. The new building increased the museum's space from and included a sculpture garden, an art library, and large storefront windows used for displays. The interior of the building was gutted to create exhibition space including a double-height gallery for larger objects. The $6.5 million funding for the renovation included a gift of $2.7 million from S.C. Johnson of Racine. Additional funds were used to upgrade the original museum which was retained for educational purposes and regional art displays.

Collection

RAM's permanent collection features more than 9,500 artworks from internationally recognized artists such as Wendell Castle, Dale Chihuly, Lia Cook, Arline Fisch, Joel Philip Myers, Albert Paley, Toshiko Takaezu, and Claire Zeisler. * Ceramics: over 1500 objects including pieces from

Rudy Autio Rudy or Rudi is a masculine given name, sometimes short for Rudolf, Rudolph, Rawad, Rudra, Ruairidh, or variations thereof, a nickname and a surname which may refer to: People Given name or nickname *Rudolf Rudy Andeweg (born 1952), Dutch polit ...

, Richard DeVore, Ruth Duckworth,

Adrian Saxe Adrian Saxe is an American ceramic artist who was born in Glendale, California in 1943. He lives and works in Los Angeles, California. Biography Saxe studied at the Chouinard Art Institute (Los Angeles, California) from 1965 to 1969 and earned ...

Akio Takamori Akio Takamori (1950 – January 11, 2017) was a Japanese-American ceramic sculptor and was a faculty member at the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington. Biography Takamori was born in Nobeoka, Miyazaki, Japan in 1950 October 11. Th ...

, Toshiko Takaezu, Robert Turner, and

Betty Woodman Elizabeth Woodman (née Abrahams; May 14, 1930 – January 2, 2018) was an American ceramic artist. Early life and education Betty Woodman was born in Norwalk, Connecticut, to Minnie and Henry Abrahams. Her parents were progressive socialists ...

. The collection also includes over 500 ceramic teapots from the 1950s through the 2000s, one of the largest such collections in the United States. * Fibers: over 450 objects, many of which are sculptural works that employ basketry techniques or materials. The collection contains works by Dorothy Gil Barnes, Lia Cook, Carol Eckert, Lilliam Elliott, John McQueen, Ed Rossbach and Claire Zeisler. * Glass: works from artists Dale Chihuly,

Dan Dailey Daniel James Dailey Jr. (December 14, 1915 – October 16, 1978) was an American dancer and actor. He is best remembered for a series of popular musicals he made at 20th Century Fox such as '' Mother Wore Tights'' (1947). Biography Early life D ...

Michael Glancy Michael M. Glancy (February 11, 1950 – August 29, 2020) was an American glass and sculpture artist and arts educator. Biography Glancy was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1950. He began working with glass in 1970 and received a BFA from the Un ...

, Judy Jensen,

Harvey Littleton Harvey Littleton (June 14, 1922 – December 13, 2013) was an American glass artist and educator, one of the founders of the studio glass movement; he is often referred to as the "Father of the Studio Glass Movement". Born in Corning (city), Ne ...

, Joel Phillip Meyers and Ann Wolff. * Metals: over 1,200 works including artists Chunghi Choo, Keven O'Dwyer, Robert W. Ebendorf,

Fred Fenster Fred Fenster (born 1934) is a metalsmith and professor emeritus of the University of Wisconsin at Madison where he taught art and education. He is particularly known for his work in pewter, influencing generations of metalsmiths. Fenster was nam ...

, Arline Fisch, Ken Loeber, Eleanor Moty,

, and Earl Pardon. * Wood: includes turned vessels, as well as furniture. One of the highlights of the collection is a Wendell Castle desk that was in the '' Objects: USA'' exhibition in 1969. Other artists include Gary Knox Bennett, John Cederquist, Thomas Hucker,

Mark Lindquist Mark Lindquist (born 1949) is an American sculptor in wood, artist, author, and photographer. Lindquist is a major figure in the redirection and resurgence of woodturning in the United States beginning in the early 1970s. His communication of his ...

, Matt Moulthrop, Jere Osgood, Norm Sartorius, and Robert Stocksdale. * Handmade books: hand-printed letterpress and larger offset lithography works. The collection includes work from Scott McCarney, Patti Tyrol, Erica Von Horn,

Don Celender Don Celender (1931 – March 3, 2005) was an American conceptual artist and professor. Celender, who began producing art in the late 1960s, used surveys extensively in his work. He would send questionnaires to members of the public, academics, ar ...

Jim Lee Jim Lee (Korean 이용철; born August 11, 1964) is a Korean American comic-book artist, writer, editor, and publisher. He is currently the Publisher and Chief Creative Officer of DC Comics. In recognition of his work, Lee has received a Harvey ...

and Bonnie O'Connell.

References

External links

* {{authority control Buildings and structures in Racine, Wisconsin Museums in Racine County, Wisconsin Art museums and galleries in Wisconsin Contemporary crafts museums in the United States Works Progress Administration in Wisconsin Art museums established in 1941 1941 establishments in Wisconsin Tourist attractions in Racine, Wisconsin