Honoring Director Judy L. Larson Building A Collection: 2008 - 2025

Red background with white text reading "Building A Collection: 2008 - 2025, Honoring Director Judy L. Larson."

Special Reception: Thursday, July 10 from 4-6pm at the Museum.

Open to all; free admission; no RSVP required.

Join us for a special exhibition in honor of Director Judy L. Larson. After 17 years of bold and vibrant leadership at the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art, she has retired. Building A Collection: 2008 - 2025 will feature a selection of notable works from the permanent collection added between these years. We are grateful to the generous donors who have contributed work to our collection, and look forward to sharing them with the community in this exhibition.
 

Judy L. Larson has become nearly synonymous with the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art. Her arrival in 2008 marked a pivotal moment, coinciding with the transition from the Reynolds Gallery to the newly constructed Adams Center for the Visual Arts in 2010. Since the Museum’s opening, the permanent collection has expanded from just over 400 objects to nearly 2,500, thanks to strategic acquisitions and many generous gifts. Today, the collection reflects a broad spectrum of artistic movements and periods, featuring work by both local and international artists across a wide range of subjects and media.

Building a Collection showcases a curated selection of significant works acquired between 2008 and 2025, celebrating not only the Museum’s evolving holdings but also Larson’s profound and lasting influence. Each work on view reflects meaningful relationships cultivated with artists, donors, and community members.

Over the course of these 17 years, the Museum has organized 111 exhibitions, published 22 catalogues, and welcomed more than 100,000 visitors into the gallery. As Larson retires, she leaves behind a legacy of visionary leadership, impactful exhibitions, and a dynamic permanent collection that will continue to inspire for generations to come.

 

In Judy's honor, the Museum will purchase a work for the permanent collection. Make a donation in Judy's honor: designate "Art Museum" and select "tribute gift" for Judy L. Larson. Donate here.

Judy L. Larson: Looking Back

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Judy sitting with her mini Aussies, Tucker and Tilly, in the gallery.
The director and the "gallery guards" -- her miniature Australian shepherds who lived at the Museum during her tenure. Tilly (left) and Tucker (right).
Chakaia Booker Art Exhibit in Westmont Museum
A powerful exhibition of sculptor Chakaia Booker in 2014 -- one of Larson's favorite exhibitions.
Director Judy L. Larson standing in front of framed artworks, smiling with her arms crossed.
Judy L. Larson, circa 2008.
Former Family Day at Westmont with Food Trucks
Larson planned several Family Days for the community throughout her career, celebrating French, Mexican, and Japanese cultures, and highlighting local artists.
Linda Ekstrom's "Tangled"
After exhibiting Linda Ekstrom's work in "Invisible Realms" (2013), the Museum invited Ekstrom back for a solo exhibition in 2023 ("Straddling Circumference..."). Pictured: "Tangled."
Andrea Bowers - Families do not have Borders
Bowers/ERRE in 2017 provided a powerful commentary on borders, immigration, coexistence and social justice (“So Close and So Far”). Pictured: Andrea Bowers, "Monarch Butterfly (Families Do Not Have Borders)".
Gallery photograph picturing several works by Schoeff.
Marie Schoeff exhibited a multitude of drawings, prints, and monotypes in her own solo exhibition after being included in "Invisible Realms" ("Amplifying the Between", 2022).
Judy sitting with her mini Aussies, Tucker and Tilly, in the gallery.
Chakaia Booker Art Exhibit in Westmont Museum
Director Judy L. Larson standing in front of framed artworks, smiling with her arms crossed.
Former Family Day at Westmont with Food Trucks
Linda Ekstrom's "Tangled"
Andrea Bowers - Families do not have Borders
Gallery photograph picturing several works by Schoeff.
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