The permanent collection presents a visual arts mecca for diverse tastes.  American, European and Asian highlights are among the treasures of internationally important works including those by French Impressionist master, Edgar Degas (1834 – 1937), English portraitist, Sir Thomas Lawrence (1769 – 1839), American painters Martin Johnson Heade (1819-1904), Charles Willson Peale (1741-1827), and Frank Duveneck (1848-1919). 

The Contemporary American Collection presents works by such important artists as Jack Youngerman, Robert Berks, Peter Reginato, Harry Jackson, N.A., and Joe Downing (1925-2007).  A special feature of this collection is a selection of Contemporary Studio Art Glass representing artists of national and international acclaim such as William Carlson, Joel Phillip Myers and Jon Kuhn.


Exhibitions:

“Art of the Glassmaker” and “Point of View”, concurrent exhibitions of two and three dimensional art showcasing Kentucky artists and craftsmen.
Through August 22

The event, sponsored by Swedish Match North America, will include a preview Saturday, June 5 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. featuring gallery talks by the artists beginning at 7:30 p.m. The event is FREE and open to the public.

“Art of the Glassmaker” is presented in conjunction with the Glass Art Society’s 40th Annual International Conference, scheduled in Louisville, June 10-12. The exhibition, organized by Owensboro native Brook Forrest White, Jr., features eleven glass makers associated with White’s hot glass studio, Flame Run, in Louisville. Included are Amy Pender, Susie Slabaugh, Tiffany Ackerman, Mike Hudson, Paul Nelson, Laurel Streible, Sean Reynolds, Tiffany Zink and Bryan Holden.

The works of the exhibiting artists present a wide variety of glass making methods including examples of mouth blown, cast and slumped techniques.


“Point of View” is an exhibition of thirty-one paintings on canvas by nationally recognized landscape painter, Ellen Glasgow.

Throughout her artistic career, she has traveled extensively across the country, developing a sensitivity for the nation’s coastlines, rivers, marshes, fields, ridges and mountains, all familiar subjects in her paintings. Working in oil, watercolor, acrylic, pastel and monotype techniques, the artist produces both large-scale canvases and small works on paper. She has been represented in numerous one-person and group exhibitions across the country and selected collections containing her works include Evansville Museum of Arts, History and Science, Owensboro Museum of Fine Art, City of Owensboro Municipal Collection, Philip Morris, Inc., IBM Corporations, LG&E Collection and the US Department of State, Beijing, China. Glasgow has led painting workshops internationally in Italy and France and is the owner/director of the Capital Gallery of Contemporary Art, Frankfort.

The exhibitions will remain open through August 22 and may be seen during regular museum hours of 10 to 4 Thursday, Friday and 1 to 4 weekends. Admission to the museum is FREE although voluntary donations of $2.00 for adults and $1.00 for children are suggested. Access facilities for persons with disabilities are provided by the museum through the 9th Street entrance.

Frontier Camp, a free 3 week art education program for children ages six to fifteen, scheduled at the Owensboro Museum of Fine Art June 21 through July 9, is a gift to the museum and the community from Owensboro Grain Company. Daily sessions will be offered from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. for ages 6 to 10 and 11 to 15.

Professional artists and arts educators will instruct sessions designed to offer children the opportunity to experience frontier life through an exploration of functional and decorative crafts produced by early Kentuckians. Campers will experiment with a variety of media using nature as the principal subject for interpretation. Workshops will be held in Ryan Park, moving inside during inclement weather.

A highlight of the summer program will be a two day encampment staged in Ryan Park by historical re-enactors and art educators, Michael Strohm and Howard McDaniel, who will portray John James Audubon and his Shawnee guide, Fishtrap.
Strohm and McDaniel will lead camp participants in a comprehensive schedule of activities designed to recreate the life experiences of the late frontier period in Kentucky. Campers will be introduced to functional crafts necessary to sustain the lifestyles of settlers to Kentucky in the early 19th century.

Also featured in the camp’s curriculum will be a two day workshop with Evansville sculptor Amy Musia, who will lead participants in the design and creation of a public sculpture to be installed at the Western Kentucky Botanical Garden on the lawn of the Morton Holbrook Children’s Playhouse. The public art feature is a collaboration of the museum and the Owensboro Public Art Commission and is the second in a series planned for the garden.

Additional classes will include the creation of bird sculptures inspired by the drawings and paintings of John James Audubon led by Owensboro artist Rocky Cecil; functional pottery sessions based upon designs produced in the Frontier era will be led by local ceramic artists Thomas Porter and Jason Hayden; decorative crafts and toymaking directed by Lori Kimble.
Registration is required and reservations may be made for one or more days by phoning the museum at (270) 685-3181 by June 14. Enrollment is based on a first come first served basis and is limited to 25 participants per session.