08.05.22

The Pfister Hotel included in 2022 Historic Hotels of America Most Magnificent Art Collections list

Historic Hotels of America, the official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation for recognizing and celebrating the finest Historic Hotels, recently named The Pfister Hotel to its 2022 Top 25 Historic Hotels of America Most Magnificent Art Collections list.

As noted in the article, “The Pfister Hotel’s art collection is reportedly the largest Victorian art collection of any hotel in the world. Collected by Guido and Charles Pfister, the historic Milwaukee, Wisconsin, hotel keeps at least 80 pieces of 19th and early 20th-century Salon and Genre works on permanent display. Drawn from a variety of styles and subject matters, and gracing the setting for which they were selected, the collection offers guests a rare glimpse into the tastes and sensibilities that enlivened the Belle Epoque. Visitors can explore and learn about this art collection with a self-guided tour or a scheduled tour with the hotel’s current Artist-in-Residence. As guests enter, they are greeted by the two bronze statues called the Pikemen dating back to the opening of the hotel, standing on each side of the entrance. In the lobby are the well-known Pfister Lions, today called “Dick” and “Harry.” Charles Pfister used to introduce them as “Mason” and “Jefferson” to his guests. Moving through the hotel, nearly all the art embraces a style that was very much in vogue in the early 1900s, and is a complement to the hotel’s history. The landscapes, portraits, and sculptures are distributed throughout the hotel and serve as a welcome invitation at the top of each stairway or down a long corridor. Currently, the hotel offers self-guided tours of the art collection.”

To read more, click here.