Models, Muses, & Residents: Portraits from the Cedarburg Art Museum Collection

Portraits from the Cedarburg Art Museum Permanent Collection

May 10th – August 3rd, 2025

Opening Reception: May 17th

The Cedarburg Art Museum Permanent Collection is filled with human subject matter; portraits, group portraits, and self-portraits.

This exhibition features a selection of these portraits that show the diverse and extensive methods of portraiture from amazing Wisconsin artists.

In a time where the creation and sharing of portraits is simple and expected through social media and other digital platforms, this exhibition features the careful process in which portrait painting exists outside of these technologies.

The old, rich practice of portrait painting began as a method of remembrance, later developing into a show of wealth and power. However, when the technique of realistic portraits was perfected artists began to look inwards on themselves and their subjects, leading to a boom in expressive portraiture that has continued throughout art history.