The Racine Art Museum (RAM) and RAM's Charles A. Wustum Museum of Fine Arts are located in

Racine, Wisconsin Racine ( ) is a city in Racine County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Root River (Wisconsin), Root River, south of Milwaukee and north of Chicago. It is the List ...

, 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 or malted milk powder, is a powder made from a mixture of malted barley, wheat flour, and Milk powder, evaporated whole milk powder. The powder is used to add its distinctive flavor to beverages and other foods, but i ...

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, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

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

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; from 1935 to 1939, then known as the Work Projects Administration from 1939 to 1943) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to car ...

(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, painter

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

, 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. 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,

Dale Chihuly Dale Chihuly ( ; born September 20, 1941) is an American glass artist and entrepreneur. He is well known in the field of Glassblowing, blown glass, "moving it into the realm of large-scale sculpture". Early life Dale Patrick Chihuly was born on ...

, Lia Cook,

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 elements ...

, and

Toshiko Takaezu Toshiko Takaezu (June 17, 1922 – March 9, 2011) was an American ceramic artist, painter, sculptor, and educator whose oeuvre spanned a wide range of mediums, including ceramics, weavings, bronzes, and paintings. She was noted for her pioneerin ...

. 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,

, and

Claire Zeisler Claire Zeisler (April 18, 1903 – September 30, 1991) was an Americans, American fiber artist who expanded the expressive qualities of knotted and braided threads, pioneering large-scale freestanding sculptures in this medium. Throughout her care ...

. * Ceramics: over 1500 objects including pieces from Rudy Autio,

Richard DeVore Richard E. DeVore, also written as Richard De Vore (1933 – 2006) was an American ceramicist, professor. He was known for stoneware. He was faculty at Cranbrook Academy of Art’s Ceramics Department, from 1966 to 1978. Background and educati ...

Ruth Duckworth Ruth Duckworth (April 10, 1919 – October 18, 2009) was a modernist sculptor who specialized in ceramics, she worked in stoneware, porcelain, and bronze. Her sculptures are mostly untitled. She is best known for ''Clouds over Lake Michiga ...

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 – 2017) was a Japanese-American ceramic sculptor and educator. Takamori often incorporated human forms into his creations. Early life and education Takamori was born in Nobeoka, Miyazaki, Japan on October 11, 1950. His ch ...

, 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 John McQueen (February 9, 1804 – August 30, 1867) was an American lawyer and politician. He was U.S. Representative from South Carolina and a member of the Confederate States Congress during the American Civil War. Early life and educatio ...

, Ed Rossbach and

. * Glass: works from artists Dale Chihuly,

Dan Dailey Daniel James Dailey Jr. (December 14, 1915 – October 16, 1978) was an American actor and dancer. 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 Uni ...

Judy Jensen Judy Jensen (born 1953) is an American artist who resides in Austin, Texas. She is best known for her reverse painting on glass, although she incorporates other mixed media into her glass pieces. Early life and education Judy Jensen was born i ...

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, New York, ...

, 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 John Carl Cederquist (born August 7, 1946) is an American sculptor in wood and builder of studio furniture who was born in Altadena, California. He graduated from Long Beach State College with a BA in 1969 and an MA in 1971. Cederquist is best ...

, 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,

Jim Lee Jim Lee (; born August 11, 1964) is a Korean-born American comic book artist, writer, editor, and publisher. As of 2023, he is the President, Publisher, and Chief creative officer, Chief Creative Officer of DC Comics. In recognition of his work ...

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 and galleries established in 1941 1941 establishments in Wisconsin Tourist attractions in Racine, Wisconsin