Our Collection

Celebrating Art of the Natural World

Our collection includes more than 14,000 objects spanning historic and contemporary paintings, drawings, field sketches, graphics, photographs, sculptures, decorative arts, and glass.

Now on View

IN THE MUSEUM

Cast, Carved & Cut

A Selection of Our Collection

John James Audubon

Pacific Loons, ca. 1834

Oil on canvas

26 3/4 x 39

Museum purchase with funds provided by the Nancy Woodson Spire Foundation

Antoine-Louis Barye

Bear Climbing a Tree, Devouring an Owl, ca. 1850

Bronze

7 5/8 x 7 x 4 5/8

Museum purchase with funds provided by the Nancy Woodson Spire Foundation

Fidelia Bridges

Chickadees, Wheat, and Morning Glory, 1879

Oil on canvas

16 x 12 1/8

Museum purchase with funds provided by the Nancy Woodson Spire Foundation

Joseph Cornell

The Storm that Never Came, 1971

Mixed media on paper

9 x 12

Museum purchase with funds provided by the Nancy Woodson Spire Foundation

Jasper Francis Cropsey

Hazy Afternoon, Autumn, 1873

Oil on canvas

12 x 20

Museum purchase with funds provided by the Nancy Woodson Spire Foundation

Owen J. Gromme

Whistling Swans over Dunes, ca. 1968

Oil on canvas

28 1/8 x 40

Gift of BMO Harris Bank

Harriet Whitney Frishmuth

Eagle on a Rock, 1910

Bronze

11 1/2 x 24 1/2 x 12

Museum purchase with funds provided by the Nancy Woodson Spire Foundation

Andy Warhol

Rooster, ca. 1957

Ink and watercolor on paper

16 1/4 x 23

Museum purchase with funds provided by the Nancy Woodson Spire Foundation

Louis Agassiz Fuertes

Red-bellied Woodpeckers, 1927

Watercolor on paper

14 3/8 x 10 3/8

Museum purchase with funds provided by the John and Alice Forester Charitable Trust

Andrew Wyeth

Birdbath, 1994

Watercolor on rag paper

19 3/8 x 27 1/2

Museum purchase with funds provided by the Nancy Woodson Spire Foundation

Jamie Wyeth

My Chicken Transports, 1982

Mixed media on paper on board

24 x 31 1/2

Museum purchase with funds provided by the Nancy Woodson Spire Foundation

N.C. Wyeth

The Great Blue Heron, 1942

Oil on linen

40 1/4 x 30 1/4

Museum purchase with funds provided by the Nancy Woodson Spire Foundation

Joseph Stella

Sleeping Duck, ca. 1940

Watercolor and graphite on paper

14 1/2 x 16

Museum purchase with funds provided by the John and Alice Forester Charitable Trust

Severin Roesen

Flowers in a Crystal Vase, ca. 1859

Oil on canvas

20 x 17

Museum purchase with funds provided by the John and Alice Forester Charitable Trust

Robert Burns Motherwell

Magpie, 1952

Ink on paper

27 1/2 x 22

Museum purchase with funds provided by the Nancy Woodson Spire Foundation

Martin Johnson Heade

Two Hooded Visorbearer Hummingbirds, ca. 1864-65

Oil on canvas

9 x 11

Museum purchase with funds provided by the Nancy Woodson Spire Foundation

Childe Hassam

The Haystacks, 1885

Oil on canvas

30 x 41

Museum purchase with funds provided by the Nancy Woodson Spire Foundation and Tribute Funds in memory of San. W. Orr, Jr.

Gaston Lachaise

Peacocks, ca. 1923 – 29

Bronze

22 1/2 x 53 x 7 1/2

Museum purchase with Tribute Funds in memory of Dr. and Mrs. Lyman Spire and funds from the Nancy Woodson Spire Foundation

Bruno Liljefors

Snipe in the Marsh, 1908

Oil on canvas

30 x 39

Museum purchase with funds provided by John and Alice Woodson Forester and Lyman and Nancy Woodson Spire in honor of the Museum’s Fifteenth Anniversary

Wilhelm Kuhnert

Klaas’s Cuckoo, 1906

Oil on canvas on board

6 x 9 3/4

Museum purchase with Tribute Funds

Don Richard Eckelberry

Puerto Rican Parrots, 1973

Acrylic on J. Whatman illustration board

19 1/2 x 29 1/2

Gift of Lyman and Nancy Woodson Spire

Carl Rungius

Spaniel Dickey with Pheasant, ca. 1950

Oil on canvas board

16 x 12

Museum purchase with funds provided by the John and Alice Forester Charitable Trust

John Steuart Curry

Grant Wood, 1937

Pastel, colored pencil, and pencil on paper board

24 x 21 3/4

Museum purchase with funds provided by the John and Alice Forester Charitable Trust

Thomas Hill

River Landscape, 1878

Oil on canvas

21 x 36

Museum purchase with funds provided by the Nancy Woodson Spire Foundation

What’s Happening at the Woodson

Discover what’s in store for your next visit to our galleries.

On View Today

Portfolios

MAR 28, 2026 - APR 19, 2026

Portfolios

Wausau East High School International Baccalaureate (IB) art students collaborate with Advanced Placement (AP) art students from Wausau West to present highlights from their respective art portfolios, the result of rigorous program curricula.

Tiffany or Ti-phony? A Story of Desire

JAN 17, 2026 - MAY 3, 2026

Tiffany or Ti-phony? A Story of Desire

Featuring 45 lamps from The Neustadt’s renowned collection, Tiffany or Ti-phony? is the largest traveling exhibition of Tiffany lamps to date. Starting with a seemingly simple question—is a lamp genuine Tiffany or a deliciously deceptive Ti-phony?—this exhibition sheds light on an unexpected tale of innovation, desire, and imitation. Exciting new research, careful comparison, and engaging interactive elements offer a fresh and fascinating perspective on these beloved artworks. By learning to look closely, visitors will uncover clues to the lamps’ true identities and discover why it’s important (and fun!) to spot a fake.

 

Cultivating Beauty: 25 Years of Nancy Woodson Spire Foundation Acquisitions

JUN 21, 2025 - APR 30, 2026

Cultivating Beauty: 25 Years of Nancy Woodson Spire Foundation Acquisitions

Over the course of fifty years, the Museum has carefully cultivated a permanent collection that spans diverse time periods and artistic styles due in part to the generosity of twenty-five years of the Nancy Woodson Spire Foundation. To mark this anniversary, the Museum presents Cultivating Beauty: 25 Years of Nancy Woodson Spire Foundation Acquisitions, an exhibition that highlights how this thoughtful collecting effort has helped define the character of the institution and how it serves the public, adding depth and diversity to its holdings.