Tag Archives: collections
John Sloan’s New York
Posted on June 14, 2023
There is a strange magic to American artist John Sloan’s (1871–1951) painting Cornelia Street. The artwork, recently acquired by the Woodson Art Museum, captures a quintessential New York view, a culmination of the cycle of "city pictures" he had pursued since moving to New York in 1904.
Making Visual Connections
Posted on November 30, 2022
Whether in Wausau or Philadelphia, enjoy these image pairings as a "sneak peek" into the visual connections I saw between French artist Henri Matisse and Wisconsin artist Ruth Grotenrath!
The Joy of Subtle Essentials
Posted on July 13, 2022
Recently, curator of exhibitions Shannon Pueschner and I had the opportunity to go to the Center for Collections Care at Beloit College. While there, we took a four-day intensive course on matting. Peek at all the processes below to see just how big an impact such a "small" feature can make!
Come What May
Posted on May 18, 2022
I have been watching a single daffodil grow at the Woodson Art Museum for the last six weeks. It was a sign of the changing seasons – the slow melt of winter giving way to the newly discovered warmth of spring and my first transition of seasons as a newly... Read More
A Burchfield Backstory
Posted on March 30, 2022
Recently acquired by the Woodson Art Museum, American artist Charles Burchfield’s large-scale watercolor, Brooding Bird, radiates the power of nature: calligraphic strokes describe vibrating, leafless trees at the horizon line.
In-Between Times & Possibilities
Posted on November 24, 2021
When I first visited the Woodson Art Museum in September to interview for the curator of collections position, I was struck by John Felsing’s Ghost in the Twilight, now on view in the Avian Celebrations exhibition.
The Art of Curating
Posted on March 10, 2021
I’ve seen the word curate used lately in many contexts related to the organization of food stands, merchandise placement in stores, and even selecting songs and musicians.
The term curate has long been associated with the art world. One definition is to select, organize, and care for a collection or exhibition. Certainly, it describes how exhibitions from the Woodson Art Museum’s permanent collection have been presented for decades. As I look at other definitions of the word, I see that merchandise, information, and more can be curated. Why not?
Up to the Challenge
Posted on August 19, 2020
Typically during the summer months, I’m happily organizing exhibitions to install in all the Museum’s permanent collection galleries. Covid-19 prompted rethinking installations to increase safety and social distancing. This fall, the west gallery where visitors usually peruse selections from the permanent collection will instead provide expanded space for Birds in Art so visitors can safely enjoy the 128 artworks comprising the exhibition.
My next exciting challenge is preparing for March 6, 2021 when all the Woodson Art Museum’s galleries will feature works from the collection.
Art of the Hunt
Posted on June 03, 2020
It’s not a secret; I love working at the Woodson Art Museum. What’s not to love? Each day I’m with fabulous colleagues, in a beautiful facility, surrounded by stunning artworks. Working with the Museum’s collection of thousands of historic and contemporary paintings, works on paper, and sculpture throughout forty years, I’ve curated more than 100 exhibitions.
Where do I get the themes and how do I choose the artworks? That’s the challenge and joy. Rather than a recipe, it’s more like a jig-saw puzzle. The exhibition idea “picture” is there; getting the pieces in the right place is the goal.
The Perfect Situation
Posted on September 25, 2019
The Perfect Situation is the title of a graphite drawing by Sue deLearie Adair that’s among recent acquisitions by the Woodson Art Museum and also encompasses the opening earlier this month of the 2019 Birds in Art exhibition.
After months of work, hundreds of emails and phone calls, numerous Google searches, the production of a 134-page catalogue, artworks arriving from a dozen countries, and ultimately the installation in the galleries of 127 beautiful paintings, graphics, and sculptures, the Museum shares the exhibition with the public.
