Milwaukee Art Museum

★5.0

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Milwaukee Art Museum Quadracci Pavilion on Lake Michigan

Carol M. Highsmith, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons; Image Size Adjusted

Iconic lakefront museum famed for its soaring, wing‑like architecture and world‑class collection—where art, design, and Milwaukee’s skyline meet on the shores of Lake Michigan.

General Information

Hours:
Wednesday: 10:00am–5:00pm
Thursday: 10:00am–8:00pm
Friday–Sunday: 10:00am–5:00pm
Monday–Tuesday: Closed
Fees:
Adults: $27
Students, seniors (65+), military: $20
Children 12 & under: Free
Thursday evenings (4:00–8:00pm): Pay‑what‑you‑wish
Pet Policy:
Pets are not allowed inside the museum; service animals permitted
Seasons:
All year
Location:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/U7C1f5z6wzN2G5oJ8
700 N Art Museum Dr, Milwaukee, WI 53202
Website:
https://mam.org/

How to Get There

From downtown Milwaukee: Travel east toward Lake Michigan via East Michigan Street or East Wisconsin Avenue. The museum is accessible by car, bike, bus, or on foot, and is connected to downtown by the Reiman Pedestrian Bridge. Bike paths, nearby transit routes, and multiple parking garages serve the campus.

Overview

The Milwaukee Art Museum is one of Wisconsin's most celebrated cultural institutions and an internationally recognized landmark of modern architecture. Founded in 1888, it occupies a 24-acre lakefront campus with buildings by Eero Saarinen (the War Memorial Center), David Kahler, and Santiago Calatrava.

Quadracci Pavilion

Calatrava's Quadracci Pavilion is recognizable for its movable "wings," formally known as the Burke Brise Soleil, which open and close daily and make the museum itself a kinetic sculpture.

Collections

The collection includes American art, European art, folk art, and decorative arts, with notable holdings of German Expressionism and Georgia O'Keeffe.

This article uses material from official museum publications and publicly available historical resources related to the Milwaukee Art Museum, which are released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.

Interior of the Calatrava-designed Quadracci Pavilion, Milwaukee Art Museum
Interior of the Calatrava-designed Quadracci Pavilion, Milwaukee Art Museum
Sailko, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Image Size Adjusted
Layton Art Gallery in the European Galleries, Milwaukee Art Museum
Layton Art Gallery in the European Galleries, Milwaukee Art Museum
Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Image Size Adjusted
Ticket agent desk at the Milwaukee Art Museum
Ticket agent desk at the Milwaukee Art Museum
adam orcutt, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Image Size Adjusted
Milwaukee Art Museum skyline view, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee Art Museum skyline view, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Dori, CC BY-SA 3.0 US, via Wikimedia Commons; Image Size Adjusted
Waterloo Bridge, Sunlight Effect by Claude Monet, on display at the Milwaukee Art Museum
Waterloo Bridge, Sunlight Effect by Claude Monet, on display at the Milwaukee Art Museum
Claude Monet, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Image Size Adjusted
Rear facade of the Calatrava-designed Milwaukee Art Museum
Rear facade of the Calatrava-designed Milwaukee Art Museum
Uriel-carmen, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Image Size Adjusted
Burke Brise Soleil wings on the Quadracci Pavilion, Milwaukee Art Museum
Burke Brise Soleil wings on the Quadracci Pavilion, Milwaukee Art Museum
Steven Andrew Miller, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons; Image Size Adjusted
Windows overlooking Lake Michigan in the Quadracci Pavilion, Milwaukee Art Museum
Windows overlooking Lake Michigan in the Quadracci Pavilion, Milwaukee Art Museum
chris.rycroft, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Image Size Adjusted