About This Venue
The Milwaukee Art Museum Research Center is a specialized library and archive dedicated to advancing knowledge of fine art, architecture, design, and regional art history through extensive collections and scholarly resources.
Located in the historic Judge Jason Downer mansion, a stunning Victorian Gothic building from 1874 on North Prospect Avenue, the Research Center houses over 35,000 volumes including rare books, exhibition catalogs, and digital resources like JSTOR and Oxford Art Online. The facility welcomes everyone from academic researchers and art history students to curators, dealers, and community members interested in exploring Milwaukee's rich artistic heritage. Visitors can arrange appointments by contacting library@mam.org to access this wealth of materials.
The Research Center's collections extend beyond its extensive library to include the Milwaukee Art Museum's institutional archives spanning over 130 years, along with special manuscript collections featuring the papers of renowned Wisconsin designers Brooks Stevens and George Mann Niedecken. With a focus on artists and movements represented in the Museum's collection, the center serves as an intellectual hub for solving research questions, uncovering provenance information, and deepening understanding of art and design history in Wisconsin and the greater Midwest region.