SPOTLIGHT: James Winn

A special feature within our Summer in Wisconsin exhibition showcasing the work of one of the Midwest's most accomplished contemporary landscape painters. The exhibition is on view through September 5, 2026.

In recent years, Winn has devoted much of his attention to large-scale paintings inspired by the lotus lilies and backwaters of the Mississippi River. Richly detailed and immersive, these works place us among floating lily pads, brilliant blossoms, herons, frogs, dragonflies, and other wildlife, revealing the extraordinary beauty found within these tranquil wetlands. Whether depicting sweeping rural landscapes, intimate gardens, or serene waterways, his paintings express a deep reverence for the natural world, an enduring sense of place, and a quiet spirituality that encourages contemplation and reflection.

Winn studied at the American Academy of Art in Chicago before earning both his B.S. and M.F.A. from Illinois State University. Over a career spanning more than four decades, he has exhibited extensively throughout the United States and internationally, including exhibitions at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the National Academy of Design, the Bruce Museum, and the Hudson River Museum. His paintings are held in the permanent collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Philbrook Museum of Art, the Illinois State Museum, the Grand Rapids Art Museum, the Joslyn Art Museum, the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts, and numerous other museums, universities, corporate, and private collections throughout the United States.

DUSK NO. 21

Acrylic on Paper on Canvas

42 1/2 x 82 3/4” (Framed)

To see more of James Winn’s available work, please click HERE

To see all of the work featured in Summer in Wisconsin, please click HERE