- Historian and author Dick Wagner said that,
"We define ourselves as a society by the stories we tell."
When it comes to Wisconsin's LGBTQ+ history,
that story has long been hidden.
But not anymore.
PBS Wisconsin has produced
an extraordinary two-hour documentary
revealing the larger tapestry of our state's collective past,
featuring remarkable people
and social change that once seemed impossible.
Here's a preview.
- Josie Osborne: The Layton School of Art
was started by two women in 1920,
Miss Partridge and Miss Frink.
- Charlotte Partridge and Miriam Frink
met at Downer College for Women in Milwaukee
in 1915.
Historically, women's colleges were a place where
romantic female relationships could safely thrive.
For Partridge and Frink,
their love and commitment for each other
thrived for more than 50 years.
- Josie Osborne: Charlotte Partridge was charismatic.
She was just sort of lovable, right?
She smiled a lot.
She was the gregarious one.
Miriam Frink, she was much more serious
and let Charlotte be the front person.
- The two made friends with Milwaukee businessman
Frederick Layton, the meatpacking millionaire
who had opened the Layton Gallery in 1888,
and filled it with grand works purchased on his travels.
In 1920, Layton offered the gallery basement
to Partridge and Frink to hold classes.
But the art they would inspire
would be radically different
from the old works that filled the gallery's walls.
- Josie Osborne: Charlotte Partridge and Miriam Frink
were more aligned
with what was happening in terms of
the European avant-garde.
- European avant-garde movements
like Cubism and Dadaism
challenged artistic conventions,
shocked some,
and spoke deeply to others.
- Josie Osborne: For Charlotte Partridge and Miriam Frink,
they brought these avant-garde ideas into their teaching,
into their own art collection in their home,
and embraced it.
[piano]
- In the house the couple had designed and built together,
they hung modern works of art
at home among bold creative expressions.
- Josie Osborne: There's a pretty strong connection
between queer identity and avant-garde movements.
There's something about growing up
knowing you're different
from what the rest of society says people should be,
just makes you more open to new ideas.
*
- Watch Wisconsin Pride online,
or on the free PBS app.