Visitors will soon have the opportunity to enjoy a distinguished art exhibit that embodies the essence of the great outdoors. The Art of Hunting & Fishing: Pursuing the Wild will open Wednesday, June 19, at ArtStart, 68 S. Stevens St., Rhinelander.
A hallmark of this exhibit, which promises to appeal to those who enjoy art as well as those who enjoy hunting and fishing, is the quality of the pieces.

“We’ll have very exceptional, high quality art representing hunting and fishing,” said Mitch Mode, a member of the ArtStart Board of Directors and guest curator for the exhibit. “There will be very recognizable art by some masterful artists. It’s a pretty diverse mix in terms of media.”

Among the items in the exhibit, which will feature paintings, carvings, sculpture and more by regional, national and international artists, will be 17 pieces on loan from the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum in Wausau.

Among the artists represented in the Leigh Yawkey collection are:
• Chet Reneson, whose paintings have appeared on the covers of Sports Afield, Gray’s Sporting Journal and Sporting Classics, and who was named Artist of the Year by Ducks Unlimited, Trout Unlimited and the Atlantic Salmon Federation, all in one year.
• Jay Ding Darling, who initiated the Federal Duck Stamp Program and actually drew the first Duck Stamp, and who, among his other accomplishments, became head of the forerunner of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service back in the 1930s.
• Frank W. Benson, a Massachusetts artist known for his paintings and etchings of wildlife.
• Sherman Foote Denton, who was commissioned to create drawings for the U.S. Fish Commission, the forerunner of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
• Ogden Pleissner, whose work is exhibited in the Pentagon and at the Shelburne Museum in Vermont.
• Carl Rungius, known as North America’s first career wildlife artist and most important big game painter.

Two special events will also be held in conjunction with the exhibit. Hunting & Fishing Stories, readings of published works that will capture the spirit of these pursuits, will be held Saturday, June 22, from 4:30 to 6 p.m. at ArtStart. In addition, the UpNorth Summer Bash will be held Friday, July 5, at ArtStart from 7 to 10 p.m.
The Art of Hunting & Fishing: Pursuing the Wild, which is co-sponsored by Mel’s Trading Post, will run through Aug. 31.

For more information, contact ArtStart at (715) 362-4328 or log on to artstartrhinelander.org.