Mass Transit Should Be Free, News, First UW Artist-In-Residence

Air Date:
Heard On Central Time

What if mass transit in America were free?We speak with a guest who says commuters and local governments have much to gain, from relief of rush-hour traffic to improved air quality. Then we learn about he life of Wisconsin artist John Steuart Curry and stay up to date on the day’s news.

Featured in this Show

  • New West Bend Art Exhibit Reflects On Wisconsin Legacy Of John Steuart Curry

    Art enthusiasts who love to bask in all that the Wisconsin heartland has to offer need not look much farther than to the work of famed regionalist artist John Steuart Curry.

    As a young painter, Curry came to Madison as the nation’s first artist-in-residence at an American university and soon fell in love with the city. He channeled that love into sweeping paintings of Wisconsin landscapes, many of which have now been curated into a new exhibit at the Museum of Wisconsin Art in West Bend called, “John Steuart Curry: At Home in Wisconsin.”

    According to Graeme Reid, director of collections and exhibitions at the Museum of Wisconsin Art, Curry bounced around the country, having lived in Kansas, New York and Connecticut before he received an offer to work for the University of Wisconsin-Madison as its first artist-In-residence.

    “It was $4,000 a year, a custom-made studio, no teaching requirements,” said Reid. “You could say his charge was to be a force for rural culture within the state.”

    Reid said that to be a “force for rural culture” was right up Curry’s alley: He understood the importance of empowering rural artists to pursue their passion.

    “When Curry first went to an art school at the Kansas City Arts Institute, I think he was very much perceived and treated as an outsider. I think he was kind of regarded as, ‘Well, here’s the farm boy, what’s he doing here?’” Reid said. “I think that very much informed his attitude when he was working with the rural artists in the state.”

    Building bridges between the so-called “Ivory Tower” of the university and the rural artists across the state was also part of the Wisconsin Idea. It forged a much closer relationship between the academic side of the state and the predominantly agricultural areas.

    The John Steuart Curry exhibit now on display in West Bend features an array of works commissioned during his time at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, including his last mural done for a livestock barn in 1946, which was ultimately found at the Wisconsin State Fair Park.

    “Fortunately, that was rescued by a gentleman named Elmer Schultz, because otherwise this would have ended up in a dumpster,” Reid said.

  • Mass Transit Should Be Free

    Mass transit in America should be free. That’s according to our guest who says commuters and local governments have much to gain, from relief of rush-hour traffic to improved air quality.

  • Wisconsin Legends: John Steuart Curry, UW's First Artist-In-Residence

    John Steuart Curry was a famed Regionalist painter, and was the University of Wisconsin’s very first artist-in-residence. The curator of a new John Steuart Curry exhibit talks about his life, and what can be seen at the exhibit, “At Home in Wisconsin.”

Episode Credits

  • Rob Ferrett Host
  • Veronica Rueckert Host
  • Chris Malina Producer
  • Graeme Reid Guest
  • Henry Grabar Guest

Related Stories