Exhibitions & Events
Current and upcoming exhibitions and events at the Grohmann Museum.
Upcoming Exhibitions
April 21 - Aug. 20, 2023 David Plowden: The Architecture of Agriculture
The Grohmann Museum once again showcases the photography of David Plowden in honor of the artist's 90th birthday. But instead of Plowden's trademark work featuring railroads, bridges, and heavy industry, this exhibition looks at feed mills, grain elevators, barns, and the human impact on the landscape of the Midwest and Great Plains.
Over fifty years of photography is distilled in this collection of vanishing views of America's past. As with much of Plowden's work, many of the scenes captured are no more, existing only on film, in memory, or in scattered remains across the rural countryside.
Upcoming Events
April 14, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Member Swap Day
On Friday, April 14 the Pabst Mansion, Milwaukee County Historical Society, Grohmann Museum, and Jewish Museum Milwaukee will have the following benefits for members of the other museums.
Free admission if you are an active member and signed up on or before April 1, 2023
10% off in the shop
$5 off new memberships
April 21, 5-9 p.m. and April 22, 12-6 p.m. Gallery Night & Day
We invite you to join us for Spring Gallery Night & Day. The Grohmann Museum will be open with extended hours and FREE admission. On Friday, April 21 from 5 to 9 p.m. we will celebrate the grand unveiling of David Plowden: The Architecture of Agriculture.
May 6, 12-4 p.m. Architecture of Agriculture: A LEGO Building Workshop
A fun event for all ages! John and Sylvia Peine return to lead the eighth annual LEGO building workshop at the Grohmann Museum. Inspired by the current exhibition, The Architecture of Agriculture, participants will imagine and construct barns, fields, silos, grain elevators, and more. Materials will be available on-site. The workshop is free with admission. RSVP on Facebook.
Past Exhibitions
2022
- A Time of Toil & Triumph: Selections from the Shogren-Meyer Collection of American Art
- Familias Unidas: Tribute to the Migrant Farm Worker Labor Movement in Wisconsin, 1960s-70s
- Robert O. Lahmann: Working in Wisconsin
2021
- The Railroad and the Art of Place: Photographs by David Kahler
- artWORK by the League of Milwaukee Artists
- Electric Steel: Recent Photographs by Michael Schultz
2020
- TWO EDMUNDS: Fitzgerald and Lewandowski—Their Mark on Milwaukee
- IRONBOAT: New Photography by Christopher Winters
2019
- The Magnificent Machines of Milwaukee
- Roll Up Your Sleeves
- Growing Place: A Visual Study of Urban Farming
2018
- David Plowden's Portraits of Work
- Wallace W. Abbey: A Life in Railroad Photography
- The Art and Mechanics of Animation
2017
- Masterworks from the Grohmann Museum - Celebrating 10 Years
- Artists at Work: The Cedarburg Artists Guild
- STEEL: The Cycle of Industry by David Plowden
2016
- On the Job: Photography by Jim Seder
- Milwaukee's Industrial Landscapes: Paintings by Michael Newhall
- Art of the North Shore Line
2015
- Forge Work: New Photography by Michael Schultz
- Metal for Mettle: Historic Commemorative Medals Honoring Labor and Achievement
- H.D. Tylle: Studies
- Carl Spitzweg in Milwaukee
- The Art of the Milwaukee Road
2014
- Erich Mercker: Painter of Industry
- Art Shay: Working
- Trains that Passed in the Night: Railroad Photographs of O Winston Link
2013
- A Working Ranch by Jim Brozek
- Born of Fire: Scenes of Industry from the Westmoreland Museum of American Art
- Bridges: The Spans of North America - Photographs by David Plowden
2012
- MSOE at Work: Selections from the Campus Archives
- Carl Spitzweg: The Poor Poet and Other Characters
- Great Lakers: Selections from the Great Lakes Marine Collection of the Milwaukee Public Library
- H. D. Tylle: Touring Germany and Working in Wisconsin
2011
- Requiem for Steam: The Railroad Photographs of David Plowden
- Milwaukee Mills: A Visual History
- Lake Boats: The Photography of Jim Brozek and Christopher Winters
- Wonders of Work and Labor: The Steidle Collection of American Industrial Art, Penn State University
2010
- Working Wisconsin: Selections from the Museum of Wisconsin Art
- Foundry Work: A View of the Industry, The Photographs of Michael Schultz
2009
- Midwest Murals: Joe Jones and J.B. Turnbull from the Haggerty Museum of Art, Marquette University
- The Bookworm by Carl Spitzweg (1808-1885)
- Wisconsin at Work: Thorsten Lindberg Paintings and Drawings from the MCHS Collection
- Cradle of Industry: Works from the Rhineland Industrial Museum
- American Steel: Works from the Collection of Tom and Lorie Annarella
2008
- A Focus on Figures
- Stone
2007
- Physicians, Quacks, and Alchemists
