collections

The objects housed within the Pabst Mansion are not only an integral part of the story of the home, but of the Pabst family and 19th century Milwaukee as well. The nearly 5,000 decorative and fine art objects now comprising the Pabst Mansion Collection began arriving in the late 1970s and early 1980s, with the most significant donation in the early years being that of three rooms of original custom-built furniture. In the decades since many more treasures have been contributed from families with names Captain and Mrs. Pabst would have recognized including Ott, Uihlein and Usinger. Members of the Pabst family have also been generous in loaning or donating items to the organization whose mission is to preserve their ancestral home.

Decorative Art

The decorative art collection includes furniture, wrought iron works, porcelain, silver, pottery, books and textiles. The museum's founders purchased the original furniture from the Ladies' Parlor, Dining Room, and Music Room - all prominent rooms on the first floor. Since this time, the Mansion has filled each room with Pabst original and period-appropriate pieces and continues to receive donations from the Pabst family.

Fine Art

Pabst Mansion's fine art collection is comprised of over 200 paintings and other mediums, such as sculpture and ceramics. Few people today recognize Captain Frederick and Maria Pabst for being among the Midwest's leading art collectors in the 19th century. The collection overlaps significantly with the Vanderbilt, Hearst, and Frye families, making it representative of art and collecting during the Gilded Age. The Mansion has dozens of the Pabst family's original paintings and other fine art works.

Archives & Manuscripts

The Pabst Mansion Archives was founded in 1994 in order to collect, preserve, and make accessible archival and manuscript materials pertaining to the Pabst family, Pabst Brewing Company, and Milwaukee’s Victorian architecture and society. The collection is comprised of items both personal and professional in nature, including: photographic images, newspaper prints, ephemera, maps, sketches and drawings, and personal and corporate records.

Those wishing to access the Archives may do so by appointment only.  Please Contact Us with any inquiries.

THE BLATZ COLLECTION

When the Pabst Mansion first opened to the public, special events were often used as tools to raise much needed funds. One such event brought the art collection of a competitive brewer to the Pabst Mansion. Emil Blatz, descendant of the founder of the Blatz Brewing Company, collected many of the same style of genre paintings that the Pabsts had. Indeed, many of the same artists and subjects were strikingly similar; it made a dramatic, authentic improvement on the interior of the Mansion. On long-term loan since 1983, the collection was donated to the Pabst Mansion in 2023.  Many well-known artists including Frederick Soulacrouix, Henry Raschen, Eugene Verboeckhoven, and Eugene von Blaas are represented between the two brewing family collections.