RAM Holiday Tree

RAM is pleased to again present a Racine holiday favorite. The RAM Holiday Tree includes ornaments from a variety of time periods and subjects—all from the late gallerist and arts supporter, Emile H. Mathis II's collection.

In addition to establishing The Emile H. Mathis II Fund for Children's Education when he died in 2012, Mathis gave the museum his treasured tree and a cache of handcrafted blown glass ornaments. Mathis spent years collecting ornaments for the tree that he decorated each year for a display in his gallery on Main Street. This tree became a part of the annual Christmas celebrations that took place in Racine's downtown each year. In addition to avidly collecting ornaments (at one point, he had over 3,000), Mathis sold them in his gallery. While his tree at the Gallery contained both antique and contemporary decorations, his gift to RAM concentrates on ornaments from the 1940s and 1950s through recent years, and tracks many of the trends in holiday decorations over these decades.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website.