Those were the days

Photo by Sonja Thomsen

Last night Curator Lisa Hostetler gave a talk to members of the Milwaukee Art Museum Photography Council presenting an overview of the collection.  How acquisitions came about, strengths and focus.  I love learning the back story to these things.  Example?  The Edward Weston (lower left) Bad Water, Death Valley, 1938 (printed by Edward Weston) was purchased in 1957 for $10.  The John Szarkowski, Grain Elevators 1, 1949 was acquired as a gift from Boston Store (a department store in Milwaukee) as an art contest winner in 1950.  That's what I call getting in on the ground floor.