Wisconsin at Work at the Grohmann Museum
| Published: 04/08/2009 |
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Milwaukee School of Engineering presents Wisconsin at Work: Thorsten Lindberg Paintings and Drawings from the MCHS Collection now through Aug. 14, 2009 at the Grohmann Museum, 1000 N. Broadway.
Harold Thorsten Lindberg (American, 1878-1950) was a Wisconsin artist who flourished during the 1930s and 40s completing work as part of the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Many artists contributed to the WPA, and many local artists saw their careers developed and transformed during this time. Lindberg, in particular, took to documenting the work of human industry, particularly that of rural Wisconsin and Milwaukee. Several of these large-scale paintings are on loan to the Grohmann Museum from the Milwaukee County Historical Society. Also featured in the exhibition are a number of drawings documenting the creation of Milwaukee's Park System.
In the late 1930s, Lindberg was a staff WPA artist for the Milwaukee Public Museum (MPM). The murals on exhibit at the Grohmann Museum were made at and commissioned for MPM from 1937 to 1940. These are only a fraction of the murals that Lindberg produced detailing Milwaukee, Wisconsin, international industries and historic events.