The Charlotte Partridge years
The Layton School of Art
In 1920 Charlotte Partridge founded the Layton School of Art in the basement of the Layton Art Gallery. This school, administered by Partridge’s business and life partner, Miriam Frink, transformed art education in Milwaukee. Its primary aim was to train young men and women to earn a living as artists. In line with Partridge’s ideology, the school was particularly progressive for its time. Co-educational life study classes were held with live models, and studies in drama, music, poetry, literature, and even psychology were required. Partridge and Frink believed that broad curricula encouraged students to better understand art in all its forms.
Helen Hoppin, a promising young artist who was in the first graduating class of the Layton School of Art in 1921, joined the school’s staff. Tragically, she died two years later in a train accident. As a tribute the Layton Art Gallery held a memorial exhibition of Hoppin’s work, and Partridge and Frink donated one of her paintings to the collection. Nine additional works by Hoppin were later acquired by the Layton Art Collection and today serve as reminders of Partridge’s dedication to not only her friend but also Wisconsin artists.