Young Artists, Big Ideas: A Celebration of Student Creativity in Downtown Sturgeon Bay
June 6, 2025—As the Miller Art Museum celebrates its 50th year serving Door County and the surrounding region, the organization is proud to announce two key additions to its team, reinforcing its commitment to the Peninsula’s creative community. Door County-based artist and creative professional Leah Karrels has been named the new Dome House Artist Residency Program Coordinator for the Dome House Al & Mickey Quinlan Artist Residency, which is presented in collaboration with the Quinlan family, and William Patterson University student Abigail Herring has been appointed as the museum’s Summer 2025 Curatorial Intern.
“These appointments reflect a larger vision for the museum’s future,” said Elizabeth Meissner-Gigstead, Executive Director. “We’re entering a new chapter at the museum—one that requires thoughtful, talented people to help bring our developing programs to life. These appointments are not just about filling roles—they’re about expanding our impact.”
May 23, 2025—The Miller Art Museum is honored to announce the acquisition of Sabbath at Sea (1991), a major oil painting by the late celebrated Door County artist Charles L. “Chick” Peterson (American, 1927–2022), into its permanent collection. The work, a masterful evocation of reverence and reflection aboard a Grand Banks schooner, was generously donated by Janet and Peter Nixon and stands as a significant addition to the museum’s holdings of Peterson’s work and legacy.
The painting is currently on view in downtown Sturgeon Bay as the centerpiece of Magnus Opus: Masters of the Figure from the Permanent Collection, a special anniversary exhibition featuring more than 20 works from the collection that honors five decades of the museum’s work collecting, curating, and celebrating the visual arts in Door County. Guest Curator Suzanne Rose reflects on "Sabbath at Sea" as a masterwork of quiet conviction, underscoring Peterson’s lifelong commitment to craft, observation, and narrative. The painting anchors Magnus Opus, which highlights the figure not just as subject, but as an enduring artistic practice. Rose describes the exhibition as a celebration of mastery born from repetition and devotion—a tribute to artists who return again and again to the human form in pursuit of truth and empathy.
Wisconsin Fiber Artist Mary Burns and Regional Figurative Masters Take Center Stage in Downtown Sturgeon Bay in Exhibits Opening May 24, 2025
May 15, 2025—The Miller Art Museum is pleased to announce the opening of Women and Water: Woven Portraits from Around the World, a compelling exhibition by Wisconsin fiber artist Mary Burns, opening May 24, 2025. This exhibition, featuring 29 handwoven Jacquard portraits, is guest curated by Wisconsin artist and photographer Suzanne Rose, and 
celebrates women from around the globe who are dedicated to water advocacy, science, and stewardship. An artist reception is scheduled for Friday, May 30, 2025, from 5 – 7 pm to celebrate the opening of the exhibit and Magnus Opus: Masters of the Figure from the Permanent Collection, featured concurrently on the Ruth Morton Miller Mezzanine. The event is free and open to the public.
Magnus Opus: Masters of the Figure from the Permanent Collection, a special exhibition honoring the museum’s 50th anniversary, features a curated selection of figurative works by Rose, drawn from the museum’s permanent collection, that includes a stunning new acquisition by the late celebrated maritime artist Charles L. Peterson (1927-2022). The oil painting, titled Sabbath at Sea, will be featured along with work by other celebrated regional artists including James J. Ingwersen (1929-2025), Lester W. Bentley (1908-1972), William Mueller, Shirley Darch (b. 1950), Robert C. Heuel II (1919-2009), Emmett Johns (b. 1940), Willard H. Kolstad (1960-2023), and Robert Leibold (1926-2013). Together, these exhibitions offer a dynamic curatorial dialogue between global and regional perspectives on the figure and legacy.
April 18, 2025 – The Miller Art Museum proudly announced the student award recipients of the 51st Annual Salon of Door County High School Art during a free public reception held on April 7, 2025. The celebratory event recognized the creative accomplishments of young artists ages 14 – 18 years from all five Door County high schools: Gibraltar, Sevastopol, Southern Door, Sturgeon Bay, and Washington Island.
Certificates of Participation were presented to all student artists by their respective art teachers, honoring the creativity demonstrated across the nearly 150 works on view. Certificates of Excellence, Honorable Mention awards, and the Rericha Legacy Award were presented by Executive Director Elizabeth Meissner-Gigstead during the event, all highlighting outstanding artistic achievement.
Image credit left to right: Ombeline Finck, Untitled, charcoal (GHS, grade 12); Rowan Ploor, Rabbit, mixed media (SBHS, grade 10), Anna Massart, Dancing in the Kitchen, mixed media (SDHS, grade 11); Corbin Kellerman, Lines, acrylic (WIHS, grade 10), and Angeni Herula, XXX Tentacion, oil pastel (GHS, grade 11).
March 29, 2025 – The Miller Art Museum in downtown Sturgeon Bay is excited to announce the opening of its 51st Annual Salon of Door County High School Art, a vibrant showcase of creative expression from Door County’s talented young artists. This favorite annual exhibition opens to the public on Saturday, April 5, 2025, with a celebratory reception honoring the young artists on Monday, April 7, from 7:00 – 8:30 PM at the museum, located inside the Door County Library in Sturgeon Bay.
The annual exhibition, the Miller Art Museum’s longest-running exhibit, this year features the work of 114 young artists from schools on the Door Peninsula. Working with their art teachers, the students demonstrate creativity, enthusiasm, and technical ability across diverse media, ranging from painting to sculpture, drawing, and photography. This year’s exhibit will feature 122 pieces from students attending Gibraltar, Sevastopol, Southern Door, Sturgeon Bay, and Washington Island High Schools.