Tag Archives: Permanent collection

Meet Gillian, the New Summer Intern!

Posted on June 21, 2023
Hello! My name is Gillian Ferguson, and I am excited to start the cross-departmental internship at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum this summer! I moved to Wisconsin from northeast Ohio after graduating from Oberlin College in May.
A New York street scene set against a sunset.

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.
A series of abstract shapes on the beach with dark blue water behind them and a bright yellow sun. Bird figurines perch throughout.

Women Artists at the Woodson

Posted on March 08, 2023
In honor of International Women’s Day, March 8th, dip into a “by the numbers” story of the Woodson’s lasting support of women artists.
A painting showing a sunset on the marshes in pink and blue. A heron stands in shadows in the lower right corner.

The Everyday Exceptional

Posted on January 18, 2023
For artist Martin Johnson Heade, knowing nature was the promise of knowing oneself. Read how his take on landscape painting differed from his friend and fellow painter Frederic Edwin Church and featured the poetic everyday scene.

Morning at Mud Lake

Posted on December 14, 2022
It was 4:30 am and the full moon shone above the frozen lake. While taking our black lab, Bella, for her morning walk through the woods it was calm, clear, and silent, save for the sounds of our steps crunching across the icy snow.
A painting of a vase of flowers with two birds sitting outside of the window.

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!
A large bird and man in black standing with a third figure at their feet.

Leonora Carrington’s Celtic Garden

Posted on October 12, 2022
Artist Leonora Carrington’s enduring interest in myth created a unique approach to the frequently seen Surrealist subjects of things like dreams, visions, and the shamanistic presence of animals within them. Recently acquired by the Woodson Art Museum, Carrington’s The Saints of Hampstead Heath, 1997, showcases these tendencies.
Lower half of a tree at nighttime. A visible crescent moon. Two birds in a tree hollow.

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.
Woman standing in front of a painting showing a landscape, sunset, and owl.

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.

A Few of My Favorite Things

Posted on July 28, 2021
I’ve been asked hundreds of times what my favorite artwork is in the Woodson Art Museum collection. My answer always centered on a question: do you have a favorite child? What I do have are memories, including my first impressions of a work and the stories I conceive in my mind while standing before a work; I’ve always had a great imagination. Many factors influence my opinion of each artwork.