Milwaukee Lakefront by Maximillian Margius Fernekes

Milwaukee Lakefront by Maximillian Margius Fernekes

Milwaukee Lakefront

Maximillian Margius Fernekes

Title

Milwaukee Lakefront

 
Artist
Year
c. 1930  
Technique
woodcut with hand applied color 
Image Size
11 x 13 11/16" image size 
Signature
pencil, lower right 
Edition Size
unique impression from unstated edition 
Annotations
pencil titled 
Reference
 
Paper
textured wove 
State
 
Publisher
 
Inventory ID
21751 
Price
SOLD
Description

”Milwaukee Lakefront,” depicted in Max Margius Fernekes’ hand-colored woodcut, is the name of a 3.1 mile stretch of pathway named after the city it resides in, running alongside Lake Michigan. The view looks north toward the water tower located at the eastern end of North Avenue. Below the pathway lay the tracks of the Chicago & Northwestern railroad, now a main thoroughfare.

Fernekes’ work was a labor of love for the city he was born and raised in, as well as for Wisconsin itself, and he often depicted scenes of the everyday life and architecture that he was familiar with. Subsequently, his work recorded the changes that took place between the Depression, war, and decades of recovery. In this early woodcut, the viewer can observe a quieter time before modernization brought a forest of skyscrapers, and cars did not yet dominate midwestern travel.