Barry Levenson

press release: A book that features the most curious, the most colorful, the most interesting, and the most unusual objects in the National Mustard Museum collection has long been a dream of its founder and curator, Barry Levenson. That book is finally here. The Art of Mustard, consisting of 126 pages with more than 600 pictures of the best of the Mustard Museum collection, made its debut in late June of 2020.

Levenson will be at the Museum on Saturday, July 11, from 10 to 4 for a celebratory book signing.

Just as the National Mustard Museum is a unique Wisconsin institution, so, too, was the book a complete Wisconsin effort – printed in Middleton by AlphaGraphics and with graphic design by Chatman Design of Madison. Levenson explains, “While many so-called experts in the book industry advised that it could be produced at lower cost elsewhere, it was important to make this a Wisconsin product. What made that an easy choice was the generous underwriting of the many sponsors who believed in the project.”

The Art of Mustard features not only images of mustards from more than 70 countries, there are pictures of classic antique mustard tins, boxes, pots, curiosities, items used in medicine, old advertisements, and even tongue-in-cheek mustard masterpieces by the likes of Botticelli, DaVinci, Velazquez, Dali, Munch, and Lichtenstein. With sometimes irreverent commentary by Levenson, the book is not only a worthy souvenir of the Mustard Museum, it makes for a good read, too. Barry Levenson founded the National Mustard Museum in 1992 (when it was the Mount Horeb Mustard Museum) and it has been a Middleton landmark since 2009. The museum holds the world’s largest collection of mustards – more than 6,200 – and mustard memorabilia. Since 2011, the museum has been a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization (separate from the for-profit gift shop). Admission to the Mustard Museum is free, although donations are always welcome and encouraged.

The spread of COVID-19 has affected the Mustard Museum, as it has affected all museums. “We reopened in late May,” says Levenson, “and we are grateful to have survived – so far. Visitors should know that the gift shop and museum follow strict CDC guidelines so that our staff and visitors are safe.“