Past Exhibits
From Lake to Plate: Local Fishing Families and Foodways
January 2025 – October 2025
Who are the people that bring you the fish that you eat? This exhibit features the work of two Wisconsin photographers, Tom Kutchera and Jim Legault, who captured the portraits over the past fifty years of Wisconsin’s commercial fishermen, fish cutters, smokehouses, delivery drivers, and retail clerks. These images illustrate the evolving “foodways” of how fish are harvested from Lake Michigan, then processed, and eventually arrive on our plates.
A special thank you to our exhibit sponsors: Baileys Harbor Fish Company, LLC, Fortune Fish & Gourmet/Empire Fish Co., and Wisconsin Sea Grant.
WATER DANCE: A Painter’s Pilgrimage An Exhibit Exploring Wisconsin’s Waterways
This exhibition Water Dance is the result of a multi-year, visionary collaboration by artists Bonnita Budysz and Robert Theaker. The Wisconsin Maritime Museum presents 40+ of their artworks that showcase and celebrate the story of water throughout Wisconsin. As seasoned outdoors (wo)men, Bonnita and Robert have canoed, hiked, explored, and painted en plein air, literally at the water’s edge. This exhibit explores those waterways through original paintings in oil and watercolor.
Washington Island “Over and Back”:
80 Years Building a Modern Ferry System
Experience the maritime tradition and hardworking people behind the scenes that safely navigate passengers across Death’s Door to Washington Island over the last century. In this visually stunning exhibit, photographer Jim Legault, documents the building of a modern ferry system and the construction of the newest ice breaking ferry Madonna. Since 1940, transportation to Washington Island has evolved from two small wooden vessels limited to winter crossings only in light ice conditions. Today, the Washington Island ice breaking ferries are seldom prevented from crossing “over and back” to mainland Wisconsin. Historic photography along with two video presentations transport the viewer into the shipyards and ferry docks of Door County.
Powerboat Pioneers
Judy is a fully restored sixteen-foot-long dory launch built in Racine, WI by the Pierce Engine Company around 1906. This inboard “vapor” gasoline-powered vessel is one of the earliest inboard motorboats built in Wisconsin. The exhibit features the fully restored boat, interpretive panels, and a slideshow of images showing the restoration process.
Ebb & Flow
Fluid lines and contoured brush strokes come together in the Wisconsin Maritime Museum’s latest exhibition, Ebb & Flow. This collaborative exhibit is a reflection of the life aquatic and features 23 artists from the Lakeshore Artists Guild and the Green Bay Art Colony. Contemporary works include paintings, mixed media, ceramic sculpture, and more.