Contemporary art has always been a central part of the program of the Milwaukee Art Museum. The Museum has strong representations of most major movements and directions since the 1960s: Pop Art, Minimalism, Post-Minimalism, Conceptual Art, New Realism, Neo-Expressionism and the political and personal statements of the 1990s and later.
The collection of Mrs. Harry Lynde Bradley, added to by her daughter Jane Bradley Pettit, brought works ranging from Mark Rothko, Hans Hofmann and David Smith to Ellsworth Kelly, Richard Diebenkorn and Andy Warhol. Important acquisitions through Friends of Art include works by Alexander Calder, Robert Motherwell, Frank Stella, Robert Irwin and Susan Rothenberg. The Contemporary Art Society, through its biennial art auction, has made significant contributions of works by artists including Bill Viola, Robert Gober, Matthew Barney, Kiki Smith, and Andrea Zittel.
The Collection also includes works in the craft media by artists such as Peter Voulkos, Harvey Littleton and Dale Chihuly. Contemporary decorative arts is also a growing part of the Collection with major pieces by Ettore Sottsass, Frank Gehry, Philip Stark, Karim Rashid and many others.
 Magdalena Abakanowicz (Polish, b. 1930)
Two Figures on Beam, 1992
|  Carl Andre (American, b. 1935)
144 Pieces of Zinc, 1967
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 Romare Bearden (American, 1911-1988)
The Street, 1964
|  Bernd and Hilla Becher (German, established 1959 (partnership); 1931-2007 (Bernd); b. 1934 (Hilla))
Water Towers (Cylindrical), 1978
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 Chuck Close (American, b. 1940)
Nancy, 1968
|  Gregory Crewdson (American, b. 1962)
Untitled, 1999
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 William Eggleston (American, b. 1939)
Huntsville, Alabama, 1978
|  Lucio Fontana (Italian, 1899-1968)
Spatial Concept - Expectation (Concetto Spaziale-Attesa), 1965
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.jpg) Robert Gober (American, b. 1954)
Untitled, 1997
|  Felix Gonzalez-Torres (American, b. Cuba, 1957-1996)
"Untitled" (Veteran's Day Sale), 1989
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