The roots of the Woodson Art Museum collections can be traced to the 1976 inaugural exhibition, Birds of the Lakes, Fields and Forests. Birds and avian-related images ruled the roost then and they continue to characterize the collection. More than 2,000 works of art, including paintings, drawings and field sketches, prints (etchings, engravings, woodcuts, and screenprints), photographs, and sculpture, celebrate the essence and spirit of birds from around the world.

As the collection has grown, other animal subjects have trotted, crept, leapt, run, and found their way into the collection as well. While birds still soar above the others, a broader spectrum of the animal kingdom - from horses and hippos to wolves and iguanas - adds depth and balance to the Woodson Art Museum's art in nature and nature in art focus.

The balance of the collection focuses on the decorative arts. Highlights include more than 125 Victorian glass baskets, hundreds of examples of early 20th century utilitarian and decorative glassware and porcelains, nearly 100 Royal Worcester porcelain bird figurines designed by Dorothy Doughty, and a survey collection of historic and contemporary glass vessel forms and sculptural objects.

2009 Terry Miller American b. 1945 In the Summer, In the City, 2008, graphite 16 x 16 Terry sees the world in shades of black, white, and gray. Completed solely in graphite, this drawing reveals the subtle nuances of light on city surfaces: metal, wood, and stone.

2008 Walter T. Matia American b. 1953 Yard Boss Edition of 16, 1999, bronze 41 x 19 x 25 The demeanor of this African gray goose lets you know who's the boss. Beek gaping and head held high, this fella has staked out his turf. Look for him in the Woodson's garden.

2007 John James Audubon American b. Haiti 1785-1851 Pacific Loon, ca. 1834, oil on canvas 26 x 38 A rare oil painting by the "Father of American Ornithology" elegantly and poignantly portrays a species that continues to fascinate bird lovers.

2006 N.C. Wyeth American 1882-1945 Port Clyde, ca.1928, oil on canvas 32 x 34 A quintessential Maine scene is punctuated by the "sound" of lapping waves and cawing gulls.

2005 Todd Wohlt American b. 1968 Little Green Bee-eaters, 2005, oil on bubinga and basswood 6 x 6 x 20 Emerging from raw wood, the forward-most bee-eaters are so realistically carved and painted that they seemingly could take flight at any moment.

2004 Eric Conklin American b. 1950 The Brood, 2004, oil on oak panel 22 x 19 The interaction among the birds entertains the viewer while the finch on the frame fools the eye.

2003 Jasper Francis Cropsey American 1823-1900 Hazy Afternoon, Autumn, 1873, oil on canvas 12 x 20 A luminous light permeates the landscape which is accented by brilliantly colored foliage.

2002 Albert Bierstadt American 1830-1902 Study for “Gosnold at Cuttyhunk 1602,” 1858, oil on Winsor & Newton illustration board 6 3/8 x 9 1/2 Bierstadt’s keen perception and spontaneous sketching ability are at their finest in this painting.

2001 Darren Woodhead English b. 1971 Eider and Gulls, Rising Tide, 1999, watercolor on T.H. Saunders Waterford paper 11 x 15 Backlighting accents the sea ducks' and gulls' distinctive plumage and body shapes

2000 Ray Harris-Ching English b. New Zealand 1939 Coot, 1992-98, oil on canvas 28 x 36 Some artists resist painting water because of the many challenges it presents. Not Harris-Ching, who masterfully depicts a coot quietly floating in a reflective pool.

1999 Andrea Rich American b. 1954 Green Jays (5/30), 2003, woodcut on Okawara paper 12 x 9 The flowering trees are the perfect foil for the bright plumage of the green jays.

1998 Rites of Spring, Kent Ullberg’s bronze whooping crane pair located at the entrance to the Margaret Woodson Fisher Sculpture Gallery, gracefully and graciously welcomes visitors and hints at the artful bounty that awaits them both indoors and out. Its acquisition was made possible by a gift from Museum founder John E. Forester in memory of his wife, Alice Woodson Forester.

1997 Gifts continue to expand the collection, including 32 18-19th century drawings, 22 sketches from Arthur Singer’s archive, and hand-colored stone and mylar lithographs by Robert Bateman.

1993 The John and Alice Woodson Forester Miniature Collection – comprising more than 150 donated small-scale artworks – is created by appreciative artists to acknowledge the contributions of the Museum’s founders to art of the natural world.

1990 To celebrate the Museum’s 15th anniversary, artists donate hundreds of drawings and field sketches, of which selected works are documented in the publication Naturally Drawn.

1989 Unbelievable realism matched with grace, motion, beauty, and design characterize Larry Barth’s Bering Sea Pirates, which was commissioned by the Woodson Art Museum.

1987 Tony Angell’s marble Trumpeter Swans greets visitors approaching the Museum’s main entrance.

1983 The Museum’s first outdoor sculpture – Eagle Rock, a monumental bronze by Kent Ullberg – stands as a sentinel at the 12th Street entrance.

1982 A donation of four aquatints by John James Audubon, the father of American ornithology, furthers the Museum’s mission to acquire historical artworks depicting birds.

1977 Owen Gromme’s signature painting Departure from Lake Katherine sets the Museum on a course of collecting art of the natural world.