Eugene Von Bruenchenhein Site, West Allis, WI
The Site
Eugene Von Bruenchenhein sought inspiration in both the macro and micro forces that he believed influenced the world. In hundreds of works of art, across media, Von Bruenchenhein remade the entirety of his West Allis, Wisconsin, home into a kingdom for himself and his wife, Marie. His initial sustained creative venture was to photograph Marie; ultimately, he made thousands of elaborately staged pinup portraits of her, experimenting with double exposures and montage printing in his bathroom darkroom. In the 1950s, Von Bruenchenhein began painting vivid, surreal subjects ranging from atomic mushroom clouds to mythical creatures and futuristic metropolises. His sculptures include elaborate towers and miniature thrones made from chicken bones. He also fired colorful ceramic crowns, vessels, and flowers in his parlor wood stove.
After his death in 1983, the John Michael Kohler Arts Center worked with his widow to acquire a substantial portion of his oeuvre. In 2017, working with Kohler Foundation, Inc., the Arts Center received the remaining works in his estate, making it the largest holder of his output.
Eugene Von Bruenchenhein
1910–1983
Edward Eugene Von Bruenchenhein was born in 1910 in Marinette, Wisconsin, and raised with two brothers in Green Bay and Milwaukee. After graduating from high school, Von Bruenchenhein, who went by his middle name, worked as a florist and later at a commercial bakery, where he was employed until the late 1950s.
In 1943 Von Bruenchenhein married Eveline Kalka, whom he called Marie in honor of his favorite aunt. Despite the couple’s dire financial situation, and perhaps because of it, their need for fantasy and escape was amplified. Over the next forty years, their home in West Allis, Wisconsin, near Milwaukee, was trans-formed into an astonishing art environment—though very few experienced it firsthand.
After Von Bruenchenhein’s death in 1983, the entirety of his oeuvre was transported to the John Michael Kohler Arts Center, where it was documented for the benefit of the artist’s estate. The Arts Center later purchased a representative selection and in 2019 acquired all works remaining with the artist’s estate, including paintings, sculptures, and thousands of Von Bruenchenhein’s original photographic portrait slides.
