Dear Elected Official -
Congratulations on your recent election in the Wisconsin State Legislature! I hope this email finds you, your staff, and families well!
The mission of the Wisconsin Historical Society is to help people connect to the past by collecting, preserving, and sharing stories. The Art Collection Loan Program offers a unique opportunity for the Wisconsin Historical Society to share stories and collections with the citizens and visitors of Wisconsin through artwork in your state offices. Our Art Loan Program is a prominent and valued way of advancing our mission, which includes not only works of art, such as portraits and landscapes, but also high-quality scanned replicas of historic maps, photographs, posters, letters, and treaties. The Art Loan Program places these things in the State Capitol offices of elected officials and public spaces controlled by the Legislative Chief Clerks' offices and creates a living museum throughout publicly accessible areas of the Capitol.
The popularity of the Art Loan Program has continued to increase and will continue to evolve. To provide the flexibility to accommodate the Capitol’s wide variety of office spaces, the Society has adjusted terms under which loans may be made available. Two framed pieces per room may be available for elected officials on a first come, first served basis.
Because producing scanned copies, matting, and framing are costs of the Art Loan Program, loans for each office are dependent on funding, demand, image availability, timing, universal appeal, and other possible factors as determined by the Society. The Wisconsin Historical Society has sole discretion for the terms of any loan or loans made to the office of an elected official.
Of course, all loaned items remain the property of the Society and are loaned to the office of an elected official. When an elected official leaves his or her office, the loaned item is returned to the Society. In the event that an elected official moves to a new office, all loaned artworks may be moved with them, regardless of the size of the new office.
Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions about the Art Loan Program or any other Wisconsin Historical Society program via phone at (608) 347-6268 or email at kennedy.mccarthy@wisconsinhistory.org.
For any additional information regarding other services provided to you and your office by the Society's Government Relations Team visit our webpage at https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Article/CS4041
All the Best,
Kennedy McCarthy