Pfister Hotel Opens Working Art Studio/Gallery

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. April 16, 2009

NEW YORK, NY, April 16, 2009 - The Pfister Hotel, known for its expansive Victorian art collection - the largest of its kind of any hotel in the world, today proudly announced the addition of an artist-in-residence program. The program, which features a working art studio and gallery that is open to hotel guests and visitors to enjoy, will be officially launched during Spring Gallery Night & Day, April 17 -18.

Local artist Reginald Baylor, who works with acrylic on canvas, has been named the hotel's first Resident Artist. In this capacity, he will spend a significant amount of his workweek and weekends in the hotel studio working on large-scale, linear paintings, which he sells throughout the country for tens of thousands of dollars. He will conduct tours for guests as part of The Pfister's overnight Art Package. For more information visit www.pfisterhotel.com/special_packages/special.asp.

In addition, Mr. Baylor will guide local school groups through the hotel's Victorian Art collection to show where he draws inspiration for his modern interpretations of Classical Victorian aesthetics. The Pfister's artist-in-resident program will be prominently featured during the East Town Association's Gallery Night Series: April 17-18, July 24-25, Oct. 16-17, Jan. 15-16 (2010

The Pfister's artist-in-residence program is a member of the international Alliance of Artists Communities, the service organization for the field of artists' communities and residencies. The Alliance includes more than 250 members - a diverse field of artists' communities, residency programs, individuals, and institutions that support living artists in the creation of new work - from across the U.S. and in more than a dozen countries worldwide. More information about the Alliance can be found at www.artistscommunities.org

According Joe Kurth, The Pfister's General Manager, "For decades, The Pfister has hosted the much acclaimed Victorian Art Collection, the largest of its kind in any hotel in the world. We want to expand on our reputation as a destination hotel for art connoisseurs by offering our guests and the public a glimpse into the world of art as it is being created - in real time, by amazingly talented artists."

Kurth further explained that The Pfister's Business Center on the Ground Level of the hotel was renovated to accommodate both a working space for the artist, as well as a space where art will be on display for enjoyment and purchase. The studio is located near the Caf'e at the Pfister. Video of the artist's "move-in day" to The Pfister can be seen by visiting http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHlWzEYxOdo.

Information regarding the artist and his or her project will be adjacent to the works in progress to explain the artist-in-residence program to anyone walking through when the artist in not present.

The Pfister artist-in-residence will be offering regular weekly art tours, demonstrations and talks. For more information about the art programs, call the Pfister Concierge at 414-273-8222.

A committee made up of local art experts facilitated by The Pfister will select the next artist who will serve as The Pfister's artist-in-residence from April, 2010 - March, 2011. Interested artists should contact General Manager Joe Kurth to apply. Applications will be accepted for the following year Residency program as of Oct. 1, 2009.

The Pfister becomes one of a select few hotels in the world to offer an artist-in-residence program. Artist-in-residence programs have a history that dates back more than a century. One of the first programs was the Woodstock Guild/ Byrdcliffe Arts Colony founded in 1903 in the state of New York. Woodstock Guild was founded by artists and was run on their own terms: a sense of community was very prominent in this artists' colony.

A new wave of artist-in-residence programs emerged in the 1960s, adding two new models. One model offered artists the opportunity to withdraw temporarily from a society which was considered bourgeois. They preferred to create their own utopia in seclusion. The other model strived to engage the public; guest studios in villages and cities served as a base for society change. Quite a number of new foundations elaborated on this new tendency during the seventies and the eighties.

The last couple of decades has seen the globalization of the artist-in-residence concept.

About Reginald Baylor, The Pfister Hotel's New Artist-in-Residence

Reginald Baylor was born November 1966 in Milwaukee, WI. He attended the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh majoring in fine art and art education with an emphasis in sculpture. After college, Reginald relocated to Southern California where he was married to his wife, Jill, and worked for the Laguna Beach Art Museum and Newport Beach Art Museum.

In 1995, Reginald and his wife and two sons moved to Chicago, IL. There he began a career as an owner-operator for Mason Dixon Trucking while continuing to produce original artwork. He returned to the Milwaukee area with his family in 1998 and owns a studio in downtown Milwaukee in the Third Ward - Marshall Building. He is represented by Suzanne Zada of Beverly Hills, CA, and Racquel Chevremont of New York, NY.