Rahr-West Art Museum turns 75: Take a look back at some memorable moments in recent past

Rahr-West Art Museum Executive Director Greg Vadney in the Ivory Room at the museum in January 2020.

More than 200 people, many from out of state, attended the opening of the Marc Chagall Le Cirque exhibit at Manitowoc’s Rahr-West Art Museum on a Sunday in June 2017.

Rahr-West curator Adam Lovell starts on the installation of Marc Chagall's "Le Cirque" exhibit at the Rahr-West Art Museum in Manitowoc in June 2017.

Minion Enthusiasts of the World, or M.E.O.W., dressed up as Star Wars characters for Sputnikfest at the Rahr-West Art Museum Saturday, Sep. 9, 2017, in Manitowoc, Wis.

Paula Feest places ornaments on her display for "Christmas in the Mansion" at the Rahr-West Museum Nov. 16, 2017, in Manitowoc. Feest is one of 18 volunteers helping with 12 displays.

As part of the kickoff celebration for the Marc Chagall exhibit at Manitowoc’s Rahr-West Art Museum, Vivian R. Jacobson (pictured), author of “Sharing Chagall: A Memoir,” gave a presentation and signed copies of her books in June 2017.

Travel & Leisure magazine has named the Rahr-West Art Museum in Manitowoc among “America’s Best Small-Town Museums.” Photo taken May 15, 2014.

Andrea Ortega, an art teacher at Manitowoc Franklin Elementary School, hangs student work for the MPSD Youth Art Show at the Rahr-West Art Museum on Feb. 28, 2018.

Members of the 501st Legion pose for a picture at Sputnikfest at the Rahr-West Art Museum in Manitowoc, in September 2017.

Artists/printmakers create large scale 60" x 36" relief prints during the Steamroller Printmaking Event in the south parking lot of the UW-Manitowoc campus on Monday. The prints will be exhibited at the Rahr-West Art Museum Aug. 9-17, 2014, and then at the Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum. Photo taken on Monday, July 21, 2014.

Donna Ney, of Two Rivers, sets the table on a display for the annual Art of Tablesettings show on Saturday at the Rahr-West Art Museum in Manitowoc. The exhibition will run from Oct. 5-26.

'Maliki' sculpture by Deborah Butterfield seen on display on the East Lawn of the Rahr-West Art Museum, 610 N. Eighth St., Manitowoc, seen in this 2023 photo.

The final panel gets attached on an almost three-year-long art project using recycled plastic bottle caps to recreate the famous "Starry Night" piece by Vincent Van Gogh, on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2014, at the Rahr-West Art Museum in Manitowoc.

Riverview art Teacher Johanna Worley, right, works with Lincoln High School art student Ashley Delsman, as they hang artwork from elementary students from the Manitowoc Public School system at the Rahr-West Art Museum in Manitowoc. The exhibit will be on display March 1-April 4, 2015, in the Ruth and John West Galleries for the Youth Art Series. Photo taken on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2015.

Roseann Brennan helps her grandson Evan Morales, 7, both of Manitowoc, as they create a snowman out of paper plates and various other craft materials during a Wacky Weekend Workshop on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2015 at the Rahr-West Art Museum in Manitowoc. The program runs the second Saturday each month and features different activities. Matthew Apgar/HTR Media

Brianna Heraly shows a snake off to children for her talent in the Miss Space Debris Pageant during Sputnikfest Saturday, Sept. 7, 2019, at the Rahr West Museum in Manitowoc, Wis.

Hilbert School District art teacher Don Glisczinski hangs student art pieces for the Olympian Conference High School exhibition at the Rahr-West Art Museum in Manitowoc. The exhibition, which features some of the area’s most talented high school artists, runs April 12 through April 26, 2015.

Manitowoc Public School District Art Department at the installation of the 2020 Youth Art Exhibit at Rahr-West Art Museum. Photo published in February 2020.

The Rahr-West Art Museum doors have signs indicating the temporary closures, Monday, March 23, 2020, in Manitowoc, Wis.

The Rahr-West Art Museum is located in a house built in the 1890s. Photo published in August 2014.

Children approach members of the 501st Legion during Sputnikfest at the Rahr-West Museum Saturday, Sept. 8, 2018, in Manitowoc, Wis.

Francine Pfeffer, of Appleton, sets up Evergleams from her personal collection for a display Nov. 20, 2018, at the Rahr-West Museum in Manitowoc, Wis.

A close-up is shown of ornaments on a Christmas tree during a previous Christmas in the Mansion exhibit at the Rahr-West Art Museum in Manitowoc. The annual exhibit typically runs from late November to early January.

Marsha Grocholski, of Kiel, is tidying up her table “Walk Through the Woods” for the Art of Tablesetting exhibition at Rahr-West Art Museum on Oct. 6, 2015. The exhibition was open from Sunday, Oct. 11, to Sunday, Nov. 8, that year.

The Rahr-West Art Museum hosted a U.S. Navy submarine art exhibit, “A View from the Periscope,” during the inaugural Subfest.

Manitowoc Public School District Art Department teacher Kristina Sheth sets up the Youth Art Month exhibit at the Rahr-West Art Museum on Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2016. The exhibit features pieces made by K-12 art students.

A replica of the Sputnik IV piece that landed in Manitowoc sits on display at the Rahr-West Art Museum, seen in March 2017.

Kimberly Nysse introduces herself for the Miss Space Debris Pageant during Sputnikfest Saturday, Sept. 7, 2019, at the Rahr West Museum in Manitowoc, Wis.

Smithsonian photo exhibit Searching for the Seventies will be at the Rahr-West Art Museum in 2016.

FILE - Works on display at the Lakeshore Artists Guild's inaugural Tiny Art Show at Rahr-West Art Museum in Manitowoc in 2017.

The Rahr-West Art Museum in Manitowoc.

Bob Kellner and Mary Zboralski with the tree they decorated in the Central Gallery this year during Christmas in the Mansion at Rahr-West Art Museum in Manitowoc.

Work of local artists will be on display at Manitowoc Rahr-West Art Museum's Members & County Artists Exhibition Aug. 25-Sept. 25, 2019.

Lakeshore Artists Guild members at the 2017 Tiny Art Show at Rahr-West Art Museum.

An installation as part of the 'No More Stolen Sisters' exhibit to be on display at Manitowoc's Rahr-West Art Museum April 24-July 31, 2022.

Day of the Day tablesetting at Rahr-West Art Museum in 2009.

The Vilas-Rahr Mansion in Manitowoc.

Rahr Malting Co. in Manitowoc from shoreline looking west on June 6, 1921. William Rahr, a German immigrant, established the malt house and brewing company. His three sons -- William, Maximilian and Reinhardt -- inherited the business upon his death in 1880. Reinhardt Rahr bought the Vilas house in 1910 and died in 1921. His widow, Clara, donated the house to the city in 1941.

Esther Schulz of Manitowoc, left and Mary Schulz of Racine look at exhibits "Late Night Rendezvous in Cairo" by Robert Archer and "Cortile de Toscano" by Deborah Coffey and Jan DeMeyer on Feb. 4, 2007. "The Art of Tablesettings" exhibit at the Rahr-West Art Museum in Manitowoc runs from Feb. 4-18.

Jocelia Travisano of Manitowoc exits the Rahr-West Art Museum's main entrance, which is next to the proposed Americans with Disabilities (ADA) accessible elevator addition that would be added on in the next five years. The elevator would piggyback onto the existing exterior staircase (cinder block fire escape) that is located to the right of the main entranceway and is seen in this photo as the solid walled addition attached to the rear of the mansion. Photo taken Jan. 8, 2010.

Quilter Lucy Zeldenrust of Two Rivers gives a tour of the quilt exhibit as she explains different quilting techniques and shares fun stories about the history of some of the quilts with Karen Webster of Two Rivers and Betsy Doncheck of Newton at the Rahr-West Art Museum on Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2009. The ladies of the Lake Quilters "The Art of the Quilt" exhibit is now on display until January 10 in the Ruth West Gallery at the Rahr-West.

Visitors enjoy the Tannenbaum Festival at the Rahr-West Art Museum on Nov. 8, 2008, sponsored by the Lakeshore Community Action Program. The public is invited to attend the four-day festival and bid on the silent auction Christmas trees and Christmas items on display at the Rahr-West Art Museum.

Rendering of a Rahr-West Mansion project that will add an elevator and vertical garden to the historic structure at North Eighth and Park streets in Manitowoc.

The Parlor room on the first floor is decorated for the upcoming Christmas in the Mansion Nov. 25 to Jan. 10 at the Rahr-West Art Museum in Manitowoc. Each room of the Victorian Mansion is decorated for the holidays by area volunteers. Two Buds Floral decorated the entire first floor. Photo taken Nov. 18, 2009.

The Rahr-West Art Museum as seen Wednesday, March 15, 2017, in Manitowoc, Wis.

A group of ladies from Lakeshore United Methodist Church decorate one of two Christmas trees inside the Vilas-Rahr Mansion library located on the second floor at the Rahr-West Art Museum in Manitowoc on Monday, Nov. 15, 2010. The Christmas In The Mansion event runs from Nov. 23, 2010, through Jan. 9, 2011.