A Creative Place: The History of Wisconsin Art

Today, Wisconsin boasts vibrant art scenes in its major cities and across the state. But how did we get here? It starts with the state’s first native people, yet this history and the accomplishments of successive generations of artists has not been adequately researched, or published. In fact, the only book to address the topic is Porter Butts, Art in Wisconsin, which appeared in 1936 and has been neither updated, nor succeeded by a new publication.

Thomas Lidtke and Annemarie Sawkins are completing writing, researching and working on a comprehensive history of art in Wisconsin. Their vision is to produce (along with expert contributors) the most complete survey on Wisconsin art and artists within the state. It begins with the spiritual and creative endeavors of Wisconsin’s First Nations and runs through 400 years of French and British occupation, the nineteenth century, and then extends through the twentieth century.