Racine Art Museum
Encyclopedia
The Racine Art Museum and RAM’s Charles A. Wustum Museum of Fine Arts are located in Racine, Wisconsin
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. She had wanted to create an art museum and park that would benefit future generations of the Racine community. In 1941, her donation formally became the Charles A. Wustum Museum of Fine Arts through the cooperative efforts of the City of Racine and the Racine Art Association (now the Racine Art Museum Association, Inc.)
Sylvester Jerry was named the first Director of the Wustum Museum. He oversaw its grand opening on November 16, 1941. The building and program began to grow, especially in Racine’s community in the larger sense. Early support of the museum came from many sources, both individuals and organizations. Western Publishing Company furnished supplies for the classes. Chicago artists exhibited at the museum; Evan Dimitry, a photographer for Life magazine, appeared at fundraisers. Various groups, such as the Racine Camera Club and Charles A. Wustum Flower Guild met at the museum adding to its visibility.
In 1986, the museum received professional accreditation from the American Association of Museums, an accomplishment achieved by fewer than 5% of museums nationwide.
RAM was first conceived when Wustum’s galleries could exhibit no more than just 10% of the growing collection a year. The construction of RAM was facilitated by two large donations from the SC Johnson Fund and M&I Bank of Racine. The RAM Museum Store opened on November 17, 2002 and the grand opening of the entire museum was May 11, 2003.
RAM’s architecture is a continuation of a rich architectural tradition in the city of Racine. Designed by the award-winning firm, Brininstool & Lynch, the museum features 46000 square feet (4,273.5 m²) of space devoted to galleries, an art library, a sculpture courtyard and a collections storage and care area. The outside of the building features an exterior clad in translucent acrylic panels. The panels are an interesting architectural point of interest and create an aesthetic “exoskeleton” for the building. The acrylic facade is lighted from dusk until 10 p.m. The building’s architecture also features qualities meant to interact with the larger community, such as large frameless windows along the sidewalks to accommodate displays of artwork, which stimulate the public to interact with the artists’ work. The building also was created with environmentally friendly concepts, such as the floor backing being created out of recycled rubber from automobile tires.
The two museum campuses are still an integral part of Racine’s community. RAM’s Wustum Museum continues to feature regional and local artists while carrying on the tradition of hosting the museum’s arts education and community out-reach programs – the largest of its kind in the state of Wisconsin. RAM features artists with national and international reputations and rotating exhibitions from its collection of contemporary crafts and works on paper.
, Tim Lowly
, Joel Philip Myers, Toshiko Takaezu
, Wendell Castle
, Arline Fisch
and Albert Paley
.
Ceramics: The museum’s ceramics collection numbers over 600 objects that include internationally known ceramic sculptors such as Rudy Autio
, Richard DeVore, Adrian Saxe, Akio Takamori and Robert Turner. The museum also has one of the largest ceramic teapot collections in the United States, a donation from collector Donna Moog. The collection encompasses over 300 ceramic teapots that span from the 1950s through the 1990s.
Glass: The glass collection contains works from artists Harvey Littleton
, Dale Chihuly
, Joel Philip Meyers, Steven Hodder and Judy Jensen
. Most of the works in the glass collection are sculptural rather than functional.
Metals: The museum’s collection includes one of the largest groupings of contemporary jewelry of any art museum. The collection includes artists Robert Ebendorf, Arline Fisch, Eleanor Moty, Earl Pardon, Susan Kingsley, Ken Loeber, Albert Paley, Kevin O'Dwyer
and Chunghi Choo.
Wood: The museum’s wood collection consists of vessels, as well as furniture. One of the highlights of the collection is a Wendell Castle desk that was in Objects USA. Other artists include Mark Lindquist
, Gary Knox Bennett, George Nakashima
, Jere Osgood, Dennis Elliott, David Ellsworth and Michele Holzapfel.
Handmade Books: The museum owns a large number of handmade books, both hand-printed letterpress examples and larger editioned offset lithography works. The collection includes work from Scott McCarney, Patti Tyrol, Erica Von Horn, Don Celender, Dikko Frost, Jim Lee and Bonnie O’Connell. Donations from groups such as Printed Matter, and the Friends of Typography in Madison, Wisconsin have allowed the museum’s handmade book collection to flourish, becoming one of the largest collections of its kind in a Midwestern art museum.
Racine, Wisconsin
Racine is a city in and the county seat of Racine County, Wisconsin, United States. According to 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, the city had a population of 82,196...
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History
The Charles A. Wustum Museum was founded in 1941. Jennie E. Wustum, widow of Charles A. Wustum, donated their house, property and small trust fund to the City of Racine, WisconsinRacine, Wisconsin
Racine is a city in and the county seat of Racine County, Wisconsin, United States. According to 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, the city had a population of 82,196...
. She had wanted to create an art museum and park that would benefit future generations of the Racine community. In 1941, her donation formally became the Charles A. Wustum Museum of Fine Arts through the cooperative efforts of the City of Racine and the Racine Art Association (now the Racine Art Museum Association, Inc.)
Sylvester Jerry was named the first Director of the Wustum Museum. He oversaw its grand opening on November 16, 1941. The building and program began to grow, especially in Racine’s community in the larger sense. Early support of the museum came from many sources, both individuals and organizations. Western Publishing Company furnished supplies for the classes. Chicago artists exhibited at the museum; Evan Dimitry, a photographer for Life magazine, appeared at fundraisers. Various groups, such as the Racine Camera Club and Charles A. Wustum Flower Guild met at the museum adding to its visibility.
In 1986, the museum received professional accreditation from the American Association of Museums, an accomplishment achieved by fewer than 5% of museums nationwide.
RAM
The Racine Art Museum (RAM) is located in downtown Racine, Wisconsin. RAM defines its mission as “to elevate the stature of craft to fine arts by presenting collections of ceramics, fibers, glass, metals and wood alongside painting and sculpture based on similarities in artist’s concepts, rather than strict media categorization. The museum plans to continue to collect work of artists who illustrate the diversity of expression and culture. By focusing on education and community outreach, RAM works to present visitors with opportunities to understand, experience and learn about the value of contemporary craft as fine art.”RAM was first conceived when Wustum’s galleries could exhibit no more than just 10% of the growing collection a year. The construction of RAM was facilitated by two large donations from the SC Johnson Fund and M&I Bank of Racine. The RAM Museum Store opened on November 17, 2002 and the grand opening of the entire museum was May 11, 2003.
RAM’s architecture is a continuation of a rich architectural tradition in the city of Racine. Designed by the award-winning firm, Brininstool & Lynch, the museum features 46000 square feet (4,273.5 m²) of space devoted to galleries, an art library, a sculpture courtyard and a collections storage and care area. The outside of the building features an exterior clad in translucent acrylic panels. The panels are an interesting architectural point of interest and create an aesthetic “exoskeleton” for the building. The acrylic facade is lighted from dusk until 10 p.m. The building’s architecture also features qualities meant to interact with the larger community, such as large frameless windows along the sidewalks to accommodate displays of artwork, which stimulate the public to interact with the artists’ work. The building also was created with environmentally friendly concepts, such as the floor backing being created out of recycled rubber from automobile tires.
The two museum campuses are still an integral part of Racine’s community. RAM’s Wustum Museum continues to feature regional and local artists while carrying on the tradition of hosting the museum’s arts education and community out-reach programs – the largest of its kind in the state of Wisconsin. RAM features artists with national and international reputations and rotating exhibitions from its collection of contemporary crafts and works on paper.
The Collection
Growing out of a small collection of 300 pieces of 1930s art from the Works Progress Administration’s Federal Art Project, the museum began to concentrate its efforts on acquiring works on paper by artists with regional and national reputations. In 1989, a second focus in contemporary crafts was established. Since then, an impressive collection of ceramics, fibers, glass, metals and wood from nationally and internationally recognized artists has been assembled. RAM now possesses one of the largest collections of contemporary crafts of any North American museum, including large collections of contemporary teapots, baskets and artist-made jewelry. RAM’s permanent collection features more than 4,000 artworks from internationally recognized artists such as: Dale ChihulyDale Chihuly
Dale Chihuly is an American glass sculptor and entrepreneur.-Biography:Chihuly graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in Tacoma, Washington. He enrolled at the College of the Puget Sound in 1959...
, Tim Lowly
Tim Lowly
Tim Lowly is a Chicago artist, musician, and teacher. He is known for compassionate egg tempera pictures of children in mysterious circumstances.-Biography:...
, Joel Philip Myers, Toshiko Takaezu
Toshiko Takaezu
Toshiko Takaezu was an American ceramic artist.She was born to Japanese immigrant parents in Pepeekeo, Hawaii, in 1922. She studied at the Honolulu Academy of Arts and at the University of Hawaii under Claude Horan from 1948-1951...
, Wendell Castle
Wendell Castle
Wendell Castle is an American furniture artist and a leading figure in American craft. He is often credited with being the father of the art furniture movement....
, Arline Fisch
Arline Fisch
-Life:Arline Fisch was born in New York, New York. She learned to sew and weave from her mother and picked up a passion for the color red from her father while growing up in New York. She studied at Skidmore College, receiving her B.S. in Art in 1952. She received her M.A. in Art in 1954 from the...
and Albert Paley
Albert Paley
Albert Paley is a modernist American metal sculptor, who was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1944. He earned both a BFA and an MFA from the Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia. Paley initially worked as a goldsmith and moved to Rochester, New York in 1969 to teach at the Rochester Institute...
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Ceramics: The museum’s ceramics collection numbers over 600 objects that include internationally known ceramic sculptors such as Rudy Autio
Rudy Autio
Rudy Autio was an American sculptor, best known for his figurative ceramic vessels.Rudio Autio was born Arne Rudolph Autio to a family of Finnish immigrants in Butte, Montana. As a child, he first learned to draw by taking evening classes from Works Progress Administration artists working in Butte...
, Richard DeVore, Adrian Saxe, Akio Takamori and Robert Turner. The museum also has one of the largest ceramic teapot collections in the United States, a donation from collector Donna Moog. The collection encompasses over 300 ceramic teapots that span from the 1950s through the 1990s.
Glass: The glass collection contains works from artists Harvey Littleton
Harvey Littleton
Harvey Littleton is an American educator and glass artist. Born in Corning, New York, he grew up in the shadow of Corning Glassworks, where his father headed Research and Development during the 1930s...
, Dale Chihuly
Dale Chihuly
Dale Chihuly is an American glass sculptor and entrepreneur.-Biography:Chihuly graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in Tacoma, Washington. He enrolled at the College of the Puget Sound in 1959...
, Joel Philip Meyers, Steven Hodder and Judy Jensen
Judy Jensen
Judy Jensen is an American artist who currently resides in Austin, Texas. She was born in Lamesa, Texas. She does primarily glass work, although she incorporates other mixed media into her glass pieces.-Museum and Public Collections:...
. Most of the works in the glass collection are sculptural rather than functional.
Metals: The museum’s collection includes one of the largest groupings of contemporary jewelry of any art museum. The collection includes artists Robert Ebendorf, Arline Fisch, Eleanor Moty, Earl Pardon, Susan Kingsley, Ken Loeber, Albert Paley, Kevin O'Dwyer
Kevin O'Dwyer
Kevin O'Dwyer is an Irish retired sportsperson. He played Gaelic football with his local club O'Donovan Rossa and was a member of the Cork senior inter-county team from 1995 until 2005.-References:...
and Chunghi Choo.
Wood: The museum’s wood collection consists of vessels, as well as furniture. One of the highlights of the collection is a Wendell Castle desk that was in Objects USA. Other artists include Mark Lindquist
Mark Lindquist
Mark Lindquist is an American novelist and lawyer.- Books background :His books are known for mixing literature with pop culture. His first two novels, Sad Movies and Carnival Desires, were insider depictions of Los Angeles and the movie business, while his third novel, Never Mind Nirvana, did the...
, Gary Knox Bennett, George Nakashima
George Nakashima
George Katsutoshi NakashimaGeorge Katsutoshi NakashimaGeorge Katsutoshi Nakashima( was a Japanese-American woodworker, architect, and furniture maker who was one of the leading innovators of 20th century furniture design and a father of the American craft movement...
, Jere Osgood, Dennis Elliott, David Ellsworth and Michele Holzapfel.
Handmade Books: The museum owns a large number of handmade books, both hand-printed letterpress examples and larger editioned offset lithography works. The collection includes work from Scott McCarney, Patti Tyrol, Erica Von Horn, Don Celender, Dikko Frost, Jim Lee and Bonnie O’Connell. Donations from groups such as Printed Matter, and the Friends of Typography in Madison, Wisconsin have allowed the museum’s handmade book collection to flourish, becoming one of the largest collections of its kind in a Midwestern art museum.
Location
- The grounds of RAM’s Charles A. Wustum Museum were part of the Northwest TerritoryNorthwest TerritoryThe Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, more commonly known as the Northwest Territory, was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 13, 1787, until March 1, 1803, when the southeastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Ohio...
and homeland of the PotawatomiPotawatomiThe Potawatomi are a Native American people of the upper Mississippi River region. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a member of the Algonquian family. In the Potawatomi language, they generally call themselves Bodéwadmi, a name that means "keepers of the fire" and that was applied...
Indians until September 26, 1833. - RAM celebrates its anniversary on Mother’s Day each year.
- The Bank, where RAM is now located, was robbed in November 1933 by John DillingerJohn DillingerJohn Herbert Dillinger, Jr. was an American bank robber in Depression-era United States. He was charged with, but never convicted of, the murder of an East Chicago, Indiana police officer during a shoot-out. This was his only alleged homicide. His gang robbed two dozen banks and four police stations...
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