When I visited the Louise Wells Cameron Art Museum, the temporary display had ended, so I just saw their permanent collection. Their permanent collection filled 10 rooms that included mostly 18th-to 20th-century paintings with portraits and landscapes; American Treasures from NC Museum of Art; The Gilded Age and Decorative Art from UNCW, work of Elizabeth Chant and Claude Howell; and contemporary art from North Carolina artists.
The museum is dedicated to North Carolina art, and almost all of the artists featured had lived in the Wilmington area or the state. One such artist was Minnie Evans. I would consider her work to be fantasy. The museum had a large collection of her work, and her paintings were pretty remarkable, considering she had an untrained hand. It wasn’t my style, but it was interesting to see the video about her life and to see her work. You wouldn’t normally find that in an art museum.
Another artist was Claude Howell, and a number of his paintings were featured in one gallery bearing his name. Claude Howell (1915-1997) was born in Wilmington, and his paintings documented coastal communities and the coastal lifestyle. He used a number of mediums, but each of his paintings had a unique look that was identifiably his own. I thoroughly enjoyed his artwork.
The permanent collection contained a range of work, including paintings, sculpture, pottery, and more. In contrast to the North Carolina artists, there was a beautiful painting called "A Young Girl Defending Herself Against Eros" from 1880 by Adolphe William Bouguereau. I recognized it immediately, and it was wonderful to see up close, but I wasn’t sure how it related to North Carolina. Then there was the painting next to it, called "Holy Family with Angel Offering Fruit," from 1635, school of Peter Paul Rubens. I remember that one from holiday cards. It was the museum’s oldest painting, as the gentleman volunteer proudly pointed out.
The museum also holds a collection of small prints by Mary Cassatt. Created in 1890, this rare portfolio, called "The Ten", is only one of eight in existence. The museum is quite proud of this collection, as they should be. They also allow this exhibit to travel to other museums.
The museum isn’t very large, perhaps because I didn’t view any traveling exhibits. It took me less than an hour to view the permanent artwork. Their area for those temporary exhibits is quite large, and it seemed they had frequent temporary exhibits come to the museum. They did have some unusual sculptures outside of the galleries, as well as a beautiful stained-glass window on the west side of the building that colored the museum floor.
They are open Tuesday through Saturday from 10am to 5pm and Sunday from 10:30am to 4pm. Admission is $7. Food is available in The Forks Restaurant overlooking the sculpture court. The gift shop has an extensive book collection, gifts relating to the museum’s collection, and children’s items. Photography without flash is permitted.