Hudson River Museum Presents Everything Has a Story: Reflections on the Collection
YONKERS, NY, June 25, 2025—The Hudson River Museum presents a new installation of select works from its collection this summer, titled Everything Has a Story: Reflections on the Collection, which opened June 20, 2025. Using the framework of storytelling, the exhibition features more than forty works from all corners of the collection, from paintings and sculptures to costumes and baseball cards.
Focused on American art and historical objects from the nineteenth century to present day, the HRM’s collection of more than 18,000 objects holds countless compelling narratives from many viewpoints and different lived experiences. In Everything Has a Story, you will discover enduring highlights in conversation with recent acquisitions, hidden gems, as well as important loans from the Toledo Museum of Art, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, and Art Bridges.
Making their debut in the galleries are two recent and significant additions to the Hudson River Museum’s collection that reveal intimate stories of relationships: a monumental bronze sculpture by John W. Rhoden of his wife Richanda, and a shimmering print by Mickalene Thomas of the artist’s former partner and frequent muse. The Rhoden sculpture is a gift from the John Walter Rhoden and Richanda Phillips Rhoden Collection at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, as part of their commitment to preserve and promote the artist’s legacy.
Other works on view include Anna Walinska’s Self-Portrait: Flamenco and Winfred Rembert’s The Curvey II, which both tell personal stories. After seeing flamenco dancer Nunez de Polanco perform, Walinska offered to paint his portrait in exchange for lessons. She found herself dancing with him onstage at a benefit concert, which she commemorated in her painting. In The Curvey II, Rembert reached past teenage experiences of racism and violence to delve deep into childhood memories and recall the joy of swimming with friends in a rural Georgia river. Other works speak to artists’ individual ambitions or the issues of their day. Sylvia Sleigh composed a monumental painting of figures in a landscape, inspired by and competing with male artists of the past. And Paul Manship’s fleet-footed Diana takes on new meaning as an emblem of American women’s increased participation in sports in the early twentieth century.
Laura Vookles, Chair of the HRM’s Curatorial Department, states, “Every work of art holds a hidden story, and this gallery invites visitors to discover them. Alongside remarkable loans, we’re proud to debut several collection objects on view for the first time or seen in a new light—each with its own compelling narrative.”
Featured artists: Gifford Beal, Elizabeth Wilson Beal, Oscar Carlson, Joseph Cornell, Jasper Francis Cropsey, Julian O. Davidson, Alice M. Dunstan, Erika Harrsch, Winslow Homer, Anna Hyatt Huntington, George Inness, Titus Kaphar, Daniel Ridgway Knight, William McCloskey, Catherine Latson, Paul Manship, Henri Matisse, Richard Mayhew, Barbara Morgan, Mark O’Banks, Georgia O’Keeffe, Fairfield Porter, Hiram Powers, Winfred Rembert, Frederic Remington, John W. Rhoden, Severin Roesen, George Segal, Sylvia Sleigh, Mickalene Thomas, Rigoberto Torres, Anna Walinska, Andy Warhol, George Wright, and Robert Zakanitch.
This exhibition is co-curated by Laura Vookles, Chair, Curatorial Department, and Shilpi Chandra, Assistant Curator.
Select works in this exhibition are generously lent by Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Ohio, and Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas, as part of the Art Bridges’ Collection Loan Partnership initiative and also by Art Bridges.
Exhibitions are made possible by assistance provided by the County of Westchester.
Related Program
Curator Tour of Everything Has a Story
Saturday, August 16, 2pm
Join Laura Vookles, Chair of the HRM’s Curatorial Department, for a behind-the-scenes look at how Everything Has a Story—our newly reimagined collection galleries—came to life. What began as a creative spark two years ago grew into a museum-wide endeavor involving careful choices, cross-departmental collaboration, and fresh thinking about the stories we tell through art. As she leads you through the exhibition, Vookles reveals the challenges, surprises, and insights that shaped this major curatorial project.
Press contact:
Jeana Wunderlich
jwunderlich@hrm.org
(914) 963-4550 x240
Samantha Hoover
shoover@hrm.org
(914) 963-4550 x216
Image: Anna Walinska (American, b. England, 1906–1997). Self-Portrait: Flamenco, 1939. Oil on canvas. Collection of the Hudson River Museum. Gift of Rosina Rubin, 2020 (2020.12). © Atelier Anna Walinska.
###
The Hudson River Museum is a preeminent cultural institution in Westchester County and the New York metropolitan area. The Museum is situated on the banks of the Hudson River in Yonkers, New York, with a mission to engage, inspire, and connect diverse communities through the power of the arts, sciences, and history.
The HRM offers engaging experiences for every age and interest, with an ever-evolving collection of American art and dynamic exhibitions that range from notable nineteenth-century paintings to contemporary art installations. The campus, which recently expanded to include a West Wing with exhibition galleries and sweeping views of the Hudson River, features Glenview, an 1877 house on the National Register of Historic Places; a state-of-the-art planetarium; an environmental teaching gallery; and an outdoor amphitheater. The Museum is dedicated to collecting, preserving, exhibiting, and interpreting these multidisciplinary offerings, which are complemented by an array of public programs that encourage creative expression, collaboration, and artistic and scientific discovery. The Museum is accredited by the American Association of Museums (AAM), an honor awarded to only 3% of museums nationwide.
Hours and Admission: The Hudson River Museum is open to the public Wednesday–Friday, from 12–5pm, and Saturday–Sunday, from 11am–5pm. On Free First Fridays, the Museum is open and free of charge on the first Friday of the month, from 5–8pm. Learn more and purchase tickets at hrm.org/visit.
General Admission: Adults $13; Youth (3–18) $8; Seniors (65+) $9; Students (with valid ID) $9; Veterans $9; Children (under 3) FREE; Members FREE; Museums for All* $2, *SNAP/EBT card with photo ID (up to 4 people). Planetarium tickets: Adults $7; Youth (3–18) $5; Seniors (65+) $6; Students (with valid ID) $6; Veterans $6; Children (under 3) Free. Glenview tours: Adults $7; Youth (3–18) $5; Seniors (65+) $6; Students (with valid ID) $6; Veterans $6; Children (under 3) Free. The Museum is accessible by Metro-North (Hudson Line—Yonkers and Glenview stations), by Bee-Line Bus Route #1, by car, and by bike. If you plan on taking Metro-North Railroad to Glenwood Station and want to leave your car behind, you can save on discounted round-trip rail fare and discounted admission by getting an MTA Away package. Learn more here.
