In Process: Studies and Sketches from the Permanent Collection

In Process: Studies and Sketches from the Permanent Collection

EXHIBITION: August 14-October 4, 2026
OPENING RECEPTION: Saturday, August 15, 4-6pm

PHOEBE & BELMONT TOWBIN WING

The presentation explores the creative process behind finished works of art through a selection of sketches, studies, and preparatory drawings from WAAM’s Permanent Collection. These intimate works reveal artists experimenting with composition, form, gesture, and ideas before arriving at a completed piece, offering a unique glimpse into the evolution of artistic vision. Because works on paper are especially vulnerable to light and environmental conditions, they are exhibited only infrequently. This exhibition presents a rare opportunity to view these delicate treasures, including works that have seldom been displayed and others making their public debut from the Museum’s vaults.

Highlights include Louis Bouché’s Study for Peppercombe Porch, a preparatory drawing for his large-scale realist oil painting Peppercombe Porch, which is also on view. Four drawings by John Carroll are studies for Morning and Afternoon, a series of Depression-era murals created for the Detroit Institute of Arts. The newly restored Woodstock Caucus (Study) by social realist artist Earle Winslow is exhibited alongside a nearly identical lithograph by the artist from the same period, offering a fascinating comparison of the two works. The exhibition also features sketchbooks from WAAM’s Archives containing drawings, studies, and ideas—some of which can be seen reflected in paintings in the Permanent Collection.