Watercolor Wisconsin 2023

December 13, 2023 – April 13, 2024
at RAM’s Wustum Museum

Richard Berns
Robert of Washington Island, 2023
Watercolor
16 x 20 inches
Racine Art Museum, Dr. Charles H. Patton Memorial Purchase Award from Watercolor Wisconsin 2023
Award of Merit, Watercolor Wisconsin 2023
Photography: Tyler Potter

Now in its 57th year, Watercolor Wisconsin was started in 1966 to honor the depth and breadth of watercolor in the State of Wisconsin. This year’s exhibition at RAM’s Wustum Museum features 96 works by 80 Wisconsin artists.

Jurors for the 2023 competition are Allison Peters Quinn and Beth Shadur. Quinn is a curator and writer based in Chicago, where she is the Director of Exhibitions and Residency Programs at Hyde Park Art Center. Her work over the past ten years has focused on projects that address intersections between art, public space, and civically minded practices. Quinn held the International Curator Residency at Fire Station Artists’ Studios in Dublin and is the recipient of a Ramapo College Curatorial Prize. Shadur is an artist who has exhibited nationally and internationally in solo and group exhibitions. She has created over 150 murals as public, private, and community art projects in both the United States and Great Britain. Since 2012, Shadur has served as the Gallery Director at Prairie State College in Chicago Heights, IL. She also serves on the Board of Trustees of the Illinois State Museum and the Board of the National Watercolor Honor Society.

Three new works from the competition have been purchased for RAM’s permanent collection, adding to the museum’s significant holdings of Wisconsin artists. RAM Executive Director and Curator of Collections Bruce W. Pepich states that these Memorial Purchase Awards are meaningful in helping to keep the memory of so many alive while also preserving the history—and ensuring the future—of watercolor in Wisconsin.

“Most of these acquisitions are made thanks to memorial contributions friends and family members have made to the museum in honor of loved ones who have died. Whenever they are displayed, the exhibition label notes that these works are now in the collection in this person’s honor. These pieces are frequently exhibited at both of our campuses and lent to other museums for shows. This is a wonderful way for the museum to document the history of Wisconsin art and to honor people who have been valued members of our families and communities.”

More About the Exhibition

Exhibition Catalogue (PDF)

Press Room

Artists in the Exhibition

Appleton: Gary Hanks; Brookfield: Laurie Runnoe; Burlington: Dave Jewell; Cedarburg: Patrick Doughman, Bruce Hustard; Fox Point: Francisco Mora; Franksville: Elizabeth Haegerl; Glendale: Pat Hidson, Ann Tarantino Smith; Grafton: Jean Crane; Greendale: James Hartel; Greenfield: Lee Grantham; Hartford: Harold E. Hansen; Hartland: Debby Peck; Kenosha: Dean Habegger, Diane Levesque, Carlotta Miller, Don Ricchio, Sujit Sudhi, John “Unicorn” Terhardt, Dyan Tishuk, Greg Uttech; Madison: Elizabeth Sawyer Kelly, Helen Klebesadel, Jack Kloppenburg, Mary Reines, Marcia Smith; Mequon: Jeanne Corrao, Alice Struck, Milwaukee: Karie Brittain, Steven Hirschberg, Steve Horvath, Susan Estelle Kwas, Tim Ladwig, Susan Leopold, Madeline Martin, Roberta Schlesinger; Monona: Jennifer Alexander; Mount Pleasant: Jerrold Belland, Richard Berns, Elena Crumbaugh, Lisa Martin, Jamie McFarland, Cory Potter; Muskego: Jan Wood; Nashotah: Alice Rossman; New Berlin: Julie San Felipe; North Prairie: Margaret Schumann; Oak Creek: Michael Gehrke; Oconomowoc: Marilu McCartney; Oshkosh: Maxine Nobbe, Judith Radtke; Racine: Regina Baker, Doris Beaudry, Christine Bohn, Margo Cuisinier, Deedee Dumont, Mary Dwyer, Lisa Englander, Alexander Greiveldinger, Ann Henkes, Paula Kalke, Jeff Kosmala, Alex Mandli, Karen Mathis, Penny Nichols, John Nowicki, Lance Raichert, Susan M. Sorenson, Kelly Witte; Rubicon: David Bielot; Sheboygan: Jean Tobin; Stevens Point: Lois Freeberg-Hagen; Thiensville: Kathleen Nelson; Waukesha: Charles Wickler; Wauwatosa: Linda Grasso, Carolyn Simpson; Whitewater: Christine B. Miller; Wind Lake: Ann Schubert; Wind Point: Caye Christensen