The Quadracci family, including Joel and Caran Quadracci, Drs. Kathryn Quadracci Flores and Raja Flores, Elizabeth Quadracci Harned and Chris Harned, and H. Richard Quadracci, who passed away this summer, have committed $10 million to the Milwaukee Art Museum to establish the Quadracci Pavilion Preservation Endowment Fund.
As the Pavilion marks 25 years on Milwaukee’s lakefront, the fund will support the long-term care and maintenance of Santiago Calatrava’s first building in the United States, sustaining a place where people encounter extraordinary art, gather together and find inspiration.
“Our parents believed Milwaukee deserved a building that would make people stop and look up, and the Pavilion has done that every day for 25 years,” said Joel Quadracci, trustee of the Windhover Foundation, chairman and CEO of Quad and Milwaukee Art Museum Trustee. “Building it was the first step. Caring for it is the commitment that makes it last. We want it to be as extraordinary for the next generation, and for every family in this city who thinks of it as theirs, as it was the day it opened.”
“Some buildings change a skyline. Others change the way a city sees itself. The Quadracci Pavilion has done both,” said Kathryn Quadracci, M.D., president of the Windhover Foundation and CEO of QuadMed. “It represents the boldness, imagination and determination that define Milwaukee at its best. Our family believes that extraordinary places carry extraordinary responsibility. This commitment reflects our belief that preserving what makes Milwaukee exceptional is just as important as imagining what comes next. We are proud to invest in the museum’s future and ensure it remains a source of inspiration, possibility and civic pride.”
“Our parents believed that if you surrounded people with art, it helped people to think more creatively,” said Elizabeth Quadracci Harned, president of the Winderful Foundation and a trustee of Quad/Graphics, Inc. Voting Trust. “Our parents were focused on bringing the joy of art to the community. My family is honored to help carry their vision forward. We are excited to join my siblings’ families in this donation. As our father, Harry V. Quadracci, always said: ‘Together, we can do more than individuals apart.'”
Since opening in 2001, the Quadracci Pavilion has become a shared symbol of Milwaukee’s creativity and civic ambition. The white “wings” of the Burke Brise Soleil helped define Milwaukee’s skyline, while experiences within the museum have made it part of people’s lives: school visits, family traditions, encounters with art and community celebrations. A work of art in its own right, the Pavilion welcomes visitors into a museum whose collection includes more than 35,000 works spanning continents and centuries.
“When the Quadracci Pavilion opened, it expressed a belief in what art could make possible for Milwaukee,” said Kim Sajet, Donna and Donald Baumgartner director of the Milwaukee Art museum. “For 25 years, people have made that vision their own, bringing children to experience art, gathering with friends and celebrating important moments together. The Quadracci family’s generosity carries that spirit of civic leadership forward, helping ensure this extraordinary building continues to welcome and inspire generations to come.”
The Quadracci Pavilion Preservation Endowment Fund will provide annual income to support the long-term care of the Pavilion’s defining architectural features. The Quadracci family first supported the Pavilion building project with a $10 million lead challenge grant by Betty and Harry Quadracci at its inception and has generously supported a multitude of projects and programs over many years. With this latest gift, the family has contributed $30 million in support of the Milwaukee Art Museum over the last three decades.
At the Quadracci Pavilion’s dedication in 2001, Santiago Calatrava said he hoped he had designed “not a building, but a piece of the city.” Twenty-five years later, the Quadracci family’s commitment supports that vision, helping preserve a place that continues to inspire Milwaukee and welcome people into the life of the museum.
