Wisconsin Art Collection, Permanent Art Collection
Acquisition
Accession
1962.1
Source or Donor
Estate of Jeanie L. Nielson
Acquisition Method
Bequest
Made/Created
Artist
John Alexander Nielson
Date made
circa 1945 - circa 1954
Notes
The Smithsonian Catalog of American Portraits reports a made/created date of ca. 1945-55 (see weblink below), but the artist died in 1954.
Inscription/Signature/Marks
Type
Signature
Transcription
"John A. Nielson"
Dimensions
Dimension Description
Framed Size
Height
44 in
Width
36-1/2 in
Provenance
Notes
Hung at the Pfister Hotel before it was given to MPL; see accession record at 1962.1.
Interpretative Labels
Label
Gen. Douglas MacArthur "remains one of the best-known and revered generals in the history of the United States Armed Forces" for his visionary leadership of the Allied Forces in World War II. Although his career took him around the world, MacArthur had strong roots in Milwaukee and considered the city his ancestral home. For example, MacArthur attended the old West Division High School, and it was former Milwaukee congressman and Common Council member Theobald Otjen who appointed MacArthur to West Point. MacArthur's father was "a decorated hero of the Civil War with the 24th Wisconsin Volunteer Regiment recruited from Milwaukee," and his grandfather had a distinguished legal career in Milwaukee.
This work hung at the Pfister Hotel before it was given to the Milwaukee Public Library in 1962. It speaks to the wide-ranging contributions of Milwaukeeans: its painter, John A. Nielson, was a prolific portrait artist of local figures, while its subject made momentous contributions to the post-war order while always honoring his hometown roots.
MacArthur was MPL's 'Man of the Moment' in 1950.
Milwaukee Public Library collections hold a wealth of material pertaining to MacArthur, World War II, local history, and the history of Wisconsin art.
Research Notes
Notes
"Gen. Douglas MacArthur has been selected as the public library's 'Man of the Moment' in this week's display. Books and magazine articles shown in the lobby outline MacArthur's career" (MJ, 7/5/1950).
