Dean Norman Jensen, who served as the Milwaukee Sentinel art critic and later opened his own gallery, died Wednesday, Feb. 17, in Milwaukee. He was 82.
Born in the late 1930s, Jensen was the son of Ray and Ann Jensen. He grew up in Milwaukee with two brothers, Pete and Neal, and graduated from UW-Milwaukee. He and his wife, Rosemary (Arakelian) Jensen, had three children — Jennifer, Jessica and Dane — and five grandchildren.
Jensen started his journalism career with newspapers in Manitowoc and Sheboygan before joining the Sentinel news staff in 1967. He started as a general assignment reporter and eventually became the newspaper’s art critic.
In 1987, Jensen left the Sentinel to open the Dean Jensen Gallery in Milwaukee’s Historic Third Ward. The art gallery, which later moved to Water Street in downtown Milwaukee, had a nearly 30-year run before closing in 2016.
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In addition to art, Jensen had a passion for the circus, which was reflected in his work as an author. He published three books, “The Biggest, the Smallest, the Longest, the Shortest: A Chronicle of the American Circus From Its Heartland;” “The Lives and Loves of Daisy and Violet Hilton;” and “Queen of the Air: A True Story of Love and Tragedy at the Circus.” The latest of the three is slated to become a movie starring Margot Robbie.
A celebration of Jensen’s life will be held this summer.
