While you won't find many art museums betting works of art, the Milwaukee Art Museum and the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh's Oakland section are putting some French Impressionist paintings on the line in the name of Super Bowl fever.
But, don't worry, the wager on the game between the Packers and Steelers isn't for ownership of the works, just a temporary loan.
Were the Steelers to win, MAM would lend its prized Gustave Caillebotte work, "Boating on the Yerres."
When the Packers win, the Carnegie will temporarily send MAM Pierre-Auguste Renoir's "Bathers with Crab."
MAM director Daniel Keegan, who arrived here from Green Bay, is a big Packers fan and Lynn Zelevansky, The Henry J. Heinz II Director of Carnegie Museum of Art is a proud member of the Steelers nation.
"I'm confident that we will be enjoying the Renoir from Carnegie Museum of Art very soon. I look forward to displaying it where the public can enjoy it and be reminded of the superiority of the Green Bay Packers," quipped Keegan.
Zelevansky countered: "In Pittsburgh, we believe trash talk is bad form. We let the excellence of our football team, and our collection, speak for itself. It will be my great pleasure to see the Caillebotte from the Milwaukee Art Museum hang in our galleries."
You can find out which painting is headed where when the Super Bowl is played Sunday, Feb. 6, at 5:30 p.m.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
