UWM Art History and Emile H. Mathis Gallery

05/11/2026

There's still time to view our Spring Exhibitions!
What Is A Print? and The One-Off Print: Monotypes from the UWM Art Collection are on view through this Thursday, May 14.

Emile H Mathis Gallery Location →
Mitchell Hall 170
3203 N. Downer Ave.
Milwaukee, WI 53211

Hours →
Mon – Thurs
10:30 AM – 2:30 PM
Or by appointment

05/06/2026

We’re proud to see our MA student Ceceilia Loeschmann featured by the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee Graduate School 🥳

05/05/2026

For more than 60 years, UWM and Milwaukee Public Museum have partnered on hands‑on learning and professional preparation.

UWM graduate students recently participated in MPM's Inside‑Out Night, a signature event offering an exclusive, behind‑the‑scenes look at how museum exhibits are designed and built. At this year’s event UWM students presented works from UWM Art History and Emile H. Mathis Gallery. Read more at the link in the comments!

04/28/2026

A few weeks ago, our MA students in the Art History and UW-Milwaukee/MPM Museum Studies Program brought objects from the Emilie H. Mathis Gallery outside of campus and into the community for MPM Inside Out night at the Milwaukee Public Museum.

During this members-only event, students were able to share original research and guide visitors through the histories and significance of selected objects, all while gaining hands-on experience in public-facing museum work!

04/23/2026

04/20/2026

Please join us this Friday, April 24th, from 5:30 - 7:00pm in Curtin Hall, 175, for Dr. Kim Sajet's Friends of Art History Guest Lecture!

See below for more information.

Save the date for our 2026 Friends of Art History Guest Lecture on April 24th!

Since the dawn of civilization, people have turned to art to make sense of the world around them. From Pliny the Elder’s account of artistic progress to Xie He’s theory of “spirit resonance” and Giorgio Vasari’s biographical narratives of artistic genius, writers have theorized and systematized how art develops and why it matters. In 1764, Johann Joachim Winckelmann first coined the term “history of art,” helping to formalize the discipline and secure its place within the academy. What began as an effort to elevate the study of art eventually became a marker of cultural refinement.

Yet today, art history — along with many related humanities disciplines — finds itself increasingly marginalized on university campuses and in public life. Programs shrink, departments merge, and scholarship is asked to defend its relevance. If art history is fundamentally the study of visual communication, why has it struggled to communicate its own purpose? What is art history for?

In this talk, Kim Sajet, the Donna and Donald Baumgartner Director of the Milwaukee Art Museum, suggests that the answer lies not in defending old hierarchies or rehearsing inherited canons, but in reimagining the purpose of studying art itself — less as a means of codifying culture or adjudicating status, and more as a way of creating community and advancing a shared sense of global humanity.

⟶ April 24th, 2026
⟶ Curtin Hall, 175
⟶ 5:30 - 7:00 pm

Image by Laura Dierbeck

04/16/2026

Thank you to all who attended yesterday's LACUSL Speaker Series talk, 'Investigating Ancient Casmeños: A Precolonial Urban Culture.'

We had a great time hearing from Dr. David Pacifico about his research in Peru's Casma Valley, his journey into the field of Archaeology, and how one can pair archaeological heritage with public engagement.

If you are interested in hearing more from Dr. Pacifico, consider enrolling in one of his upcoming Fall 2026 courses:

ARTHIST 372/G: Art of the Inca and their Ancestors
or
ARTHIST 373/G: Art of Ancient Mexico and Central America

04/16/2026

04/14/2026

04/13/2026

Each year, 414 for UWM Giving Day provides an opportunity for alumni, employees, friends, and students to come together and show Panther Pride by making financial gifts to support the Department of Art History.

Donor generosity makes a lasting impact on the Department of Art History, the Emile H. Mathis Gallery, and the UWM Art Collection. This support creates transformative, hands-on learning opportunities for BA and MA students, fuels research, and brings vibrant public programming to life.

Thanks to a generous match and challenge from donors for UWM Giving Days, you can make an even bigger difference with a gift of any amount. In this Art History Challenge, during 414 for UWM Giving Days, an anonymous donor will unlock $1,500 for Art History when 15 donors give.

Pledge your support here - https://tinyurl.com/2z465u7b