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Karl Priebe's portrait of Frederick Muhs speaks to the comradery among twentieth-century Milwaukee artists. Muhs and Priebe were lifelong friends and colleagues at the Layton School of Art who exhibited together, reviewed each other's work, and supported each other's careers. Appropriately for the Milwaukee Public Library, Muhs turned his personal collection, which included approximately 600 paintings and was described as "the most extensive collection of its kind in the area," into a "lending library" for friends, associates, and interlocutors. Muhs, who died at 42, bequeathed his extensive personal collection to Priebe.
In the Historical Rotunda Gallery, Priebe's portrait exemplifies that artists have made as much a contribution to Wisconsin's development and distinctive identity as have politicians and men of industry. In the gallery, Muhs also appropriately watches over the staff entrance to the Art Reference Collection, which holds a wealth of material pertaining to Muhs, Priebe, and the history of Wisconsin art. The Rare Books Room holds a portfolio of 39 portraits of "Wisconsin Artists by Wisconsin Artists" that further speaks to this widespread sense of comradery and admiration among local artists (Call Number 709.775 W825).