Changing Exhibits 
Student Art Show
December 7, 2012- March 24, 2013
The annual non-competitive Student Art Show is open to all students on the Delmarva Peninsula in kindergarten through 12th grade. The event is open to public, private, and homeschooled students. New this year, the show will incorporate projects done by Wicomico County afterschool programs.
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The Wildlife Paintings of Matthew Hiller
January 25 - June 2, 2013
Opening reception: Friday, February 22, 2013, 5-7 pm
Matthew Hillier’s wildlife paintings seek to offer the viewer a fresh vantage point, expressing more than the physical characteristics of a species and revealing a passion for his subject matter. A former illustrator for a variety of wildlife publications, Hillier has traveled widely since his boyhood on the south coast of England. Since moving to the United States, he has begun painting marine subjects and North American animals in addition to the dramatic African and bird subjects for which he is renowned.
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Art, Children's Literature, and the Environment: Art and Photography from Green Earth Book Award Recipients
April 5 - June 2, 2013
An amazing variety of art and photography from scratchboard to watercolors, cartoon art to stop-action photographs, will appeal to environmentalists of all ages. Works by Green Earth Book Award and honor book recipients depict topics as diverse as exploring every child's backyard, the reforestation of Kenya, protecting the tree kangaroos of Papua New Guinea, and the melting ice of the arctic. The Green Earth Book Award (GEBA) was created by the Newton Marasco Foundation in collaboration with Salisbury University to get more books with a message of environmental stewardship into the hands of children and young adults and to connect authors with youth. The GEBA are the nation’s first annual awards for authors and illustrators whose books raise awareness of environmental stewardship, the beauty of our natural world, and the responsibility that we have to protect it. Captivating young people through the imagery of words and pictures is central to reaching and inspiring the next generation.
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Artful Hands: Creations of Our Volunteers
June 7 - October 19, 2013
Many of our volunteers at the Ward Museum are accomplished artists themselves. The Welcome Gallery features a collection of works made using a variety of media and techniques by our dedicated volunteers.
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Artistic Expressions in Nature
June 8 - September 8, 2013
The Ward Museum is proud to present Artistic Expressions of Nature, featuring Gallery of Artists, a collaborative group of award-winning wildlife artists diverse in medium and unique in style, join together in an intimate and engaging atmosphere in the LaMay Gallery. Works include oil, water and acrylic paintings, photographs, etchings, pyrography, sculptures, and pencil, utilizing varied styles, materials, and surfaces. Each brings a unique perspective that supports a love of animals and nature, expressed and interpreted through compelling visual images that touch the viewer’s sensibilities. The group contributes a percentage of its proceeds toward wildlife conservation efforts and provides demonstrations and lectures to support and enrich the education, artistic, and conservation missions of each venue in which members display their work.
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Resurrection: The Taxidermist's Art
September 20, 2013 - January 12, 2014
Opening reception: Friday, October 11, 2013, 5-7pm
Taxidermy, from the Greek for “arrangement of skin” is the art of preparing and mounting the skins of animals for display and as sources for study. The practice has its roots in embalming and preservation methods familiar to the ancient Egyptians, but developments by European apothecaries in the middle ages as well as 17th-century innovations for mounting birds have all contributed to a contemporary art form in which anatomically accurate figures incorporate every detail of a species in artistically interesting poses that consider the animal’s natural behavior. Today, works of taxidermy serve simultaneously as trophies of the hunt, objects of scientific study, and works of art. Artists may take on flights on imagination through the creation of imaginary or anthropomorphic creatures. The LaMay Gallery will showcase the works of historic and contemporary taxidermists as we trace the history and possibilities of this enduring art form.
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A Flight of Science and Magic: The Owl
October 25, 2013 - February 2, 2014
Opening Reception: Friday, October 25, 2013, 5-7 pm
Associated with Halloween due to the solitary, nocturnal habits of most species and their eerie, hooting calls, owls have a fascinating natural history and physical characteristics as well as a rich cultural presence in symbolism, mythology, and literature. Specialized sight and hearing functions, nearly perfect camouflage, and the ability to fly almost silently make them among the stealthiest night hunters – only the large, vividly colored eyes may give it away as it sits in wait and listens for the slightest movement from the forest floor. With 200 species distributed throughout almost every part of the world, the owl is variously believed to be an omen of bad luck, ill health, or death, but its use as a symbol for the Greek goddess Athena, noted for art and scholarship, has led to its association with wisdom. The Welcome Gallery will feature a display of art, artifacts, photographs, and ephemera as we explore of the natural and cultural history of the owl. Watch our website for family-friendly educational programming to learn more about these not-so-spooky creatures!
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The Decoy Collection of Tamara and Donald Kirson
The Decoy Study Gallery
Tamara and Donald Kirson began collecting decoys in earnest about ten years ago by just buying things they liked. Since then, they have traveled throughout the country, visited numerous collections, gone to many auctions, and gathered some of finest decoys from the different regions of the country. This selection, on display in the Ward Museum’s Decoy Study Gallery, features birds from some of the great hunting regions in the United States.
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Natural Turns and Roothead Decoys
The Decoy Study Gallery
The Ward Museum Decoy Study Gallery presents a selection of roothead decoys, on display through October.
The term "roothead" is actually a misnomer since most had branch heads made from segments of a tree trunk with a branch still attached.
The earliest non-native North American decoys were probably made this way, depicting a variety of species such as brant, merganser, Canada geese, and herons.
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Decoy Carvers of the Seaford School
The Decoy Study Gallery
In the 1800s, Long Island’s Great South Bay attracted migrating waterfowl and shorebirds in numbers that rivaled any other area along the Atlantic coast. New York City, only a few hours away on the Long Island Railroad, provided a ready market for the sale of game. Sportsmen from the City also used the rail line to reach their favorite hunting areas along the Bay. On the north shore of the Great South Bay, the town of Seaford was home to several generations of Veritys, Southards, and Baldwins, who were skilled market hunters, hunting guides, and decoy makers. These Seaford decoys, especially the shorebirds, show a strong regional style with wide, round heads and plump bodies embellished with raised-carved shoulders and wing tips.
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