Travel

From his first voyage to the United States in 1843 to his final voyage to England in 1913, Layton crossed the Atlantic ninety-nine times. These trips, which the businessman initially took to develop new European markets for Milwaukee’s meatpacking industry, broadened Layton’s cultural horizons.
He began to study and collect art. In 1883 the affluent businessman decided to give back to the city of Milwaukee in the form of an art gallery. The Laytons (Frederick had married Elizabeth Ann Hayman in 1851) did not have any children of their own and instead traveled with their niece Grace Hayman [Fowle]. Hayman’s journals and camera document these journeys, which increasingly focused on the acquisition of great art.