Watching birds in the wild is often a fleeting moment witnessed through binoculars from yards away. Art helps make the moment last longer, suspending the subject perched, mid-flight or diving below the water, allowing viewers to take in the finer details.
This year, at the 51st annual Birds in Art exhibition at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum in Wausau, Wisconsin, avian-inspired artists from around the globe will gather to display, appreciate and create their work.
Barry W. Van Dusen, Hoodies at the Prisoner Camp, 2025, transparent watercolor on arches cold press watercolor paper.
“Birds in Art, entering its sixth decade of entertaining area audiences and visitors from across the world, is a testament to the power of artists interpreting avian subjects,” says museum director Matt Foss. “Birds are ubiquitous and inspire people in myriad ways. Fascination with birds as subjects seems to have no bounds, and the exhibition's sustained popularity proves that.”
Opening in September, the exhibition features work from 100 artists and brings together a fascinating array of two- and three-dimensional artworks, all of which were completed within the last three years.
John Miller, Great Northern Diver, 2026, screen print on Rives BFK, 31 x 51 in.
Of the participating artists, 18 are first-time Birds in Art artists, 34 are international, representing 12 different countries; and 20 are previously-named Master Wildlife Artists who will have artwork on view in the exhibition. This year's exhibition also features the work of 12 artists residing in Wisconsin.
The opening weekend of the exhibition includes opportunities for visitors to meet and connect with the artists through demonstrations and programs to create their own bird art alongside the professional artists.
Jim Rataczak, Last Ice, 2025, oil on Belgian linen on birch panel,191/2 x 26 in.
“It is an old tagline, but the Woodson Art Museum boasts the finest indoor birdwatching in the world,” says Foss. “Not only with each edition of Birds in Art, but with the museum’s exceptional and underappreciated permanent collection. The collection, dedicated to the art of the natural world, but featuring many, many birds, boasts works from the likes of Andy Warhol, Camille Pissarro, Mary Cassatt, Andrew Wyeth, John Sloan, Gustave Caillebotte, Martin Johnson Heade, Max Ernst, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Leonora Carrington and many others who have interpreted avian subjects throughout art history.”
The museum and the exhibition capture the spirit and thrill of witnessing birds and wildlife, displaying works that invite viewers to step into and immerse themselves in the natural world.
“Because of the depth and breadth of the exhibition, viewing the works often necessitates multiple viewings. Often, when walking through the galleries, I will notice things in certain works that I hadn’t deciphered before,” Foss muses.
Barbara Banthien, Gang of Nine, 2026, acrylic on gessoed board, 16 x 16 in.
“Even though I have seen the image countless times when helping edit the Birds in Art catalogue or walking through and looking at each work once finally installed, there is always more that goes unnoticed until in-depth examination is done on each work,” says Foss. The works are often quite personal; each Birds in Art artist lets you into their world and shows how birds are part of their lives. The works shouldn’t be passed by in a fleeting moment.”
The exhibition will be on view during the museum’s extended opening-weekend hours from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, September 12, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, September 13, and will remain on view through Sunday, January 3, 2027. —
Birds in Art
September 12, 2026-January 3, 2027
Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum
700 N. 12th Street, Wausau, WI 54403
(715) 845-7010, www.lywam.org
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