20/20: A Retrospective
November 7, 2020 - February 14, 2021
Take a Virtual Tour Below
This year, the Wildling Museum of Art and Nature marks its 20th anniversary with a special exhibition celebrating the Museum’s 20-year history in the Santa Ynez Valley. 20/20: A Retrospective will showcase 20 works spanning two decades of exhibitions representing one work for each year of the Wildling Museum’s history.
John Fery (1859-1934), Blue Lake (Glacier National Park), Oil on canvas, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Gordon Fish, Wildling Museum Collection.
Featured works include selections on loan from significant past exhibitions, including historical California paintings by artists Ray Strong and Milford Zornes, as well as highlights from the Museum’s permanent collection of nearly 150 works of art, including a 19th century landscape by John Fery, block printing by Everett Ruess, contemporary photography by David Paul Bayles, and plein air works by local artists such as John Iwerks.
The Wildling Museum has organized more than 100 exhibitions in its history, but the museum has true grassroots. Founder Patti Jacquemain first discussed the idea of a museum at home with friends and colleagues in 1997. “I had a ‘crazy’ idea to start an organization that, through art, would show the beauty and diversity of our country’s natural lands and the importance of preserving them,” said Jacquemain.
The Wildling Museum came to fruition just three years later and first opened its doors in May 2000 in Los Olivos, California.
David Paul Bayles, Sell, Wildling Museum Collection.
“We knew it would take a lot of work to make the Wildling Museum a reality, because we had no facility, no money, and no art,” says Wildling Museum Founder Patti Jacquemain of the museum’s early days. “But we had faith and were hopeful that, despite the large number of museums and non-profit organizations in Santa Barbara, an art museum focused on showing the beauty and diversity of nature throughout America could be successful and make a difference to the community.”
The Wildling has grown dramatically in the time since, ultimately moving to Solvang in 2013, where the museum has remained focused on a core mission of inspiring a deep passion and appreciation for nature through art.
Opening concurrently with 20/20: A Retrospective is the Wildling Museum’s inaugural Tower Gallery exhibition, Remembering Bud Bottoms: A Legacy of Art and Activism. The exhibit features sea life sculpture works by the Santa Barbara artist locally-renowned for his iconic Dolphin Family sculpture installed at the base of Stearns Wharf in downtown Santa Barbara.
