The Milwaukee Art Museum (MAM) is located on Lake Michigan in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Starting around 1872, multiple organizations were founded in order to bring an art gallery to Milwaukee, as the city was still a growing port town with little or no places to hold major art exhibitions. Over at least nine years, all attempts to build a major art gallery had failed. In 1881, exhibitions were held at Milwaukee's Exposition Hall, which was Milwaukee's primary event venue at the time.