Every year the Detroit Institute of Arts (“DIA”) posts their venues in Southeast Michigan’s Tri-county area where there will be displays of weatherproof reproductions of some of the Museum’s famous paintings. The Inside/Out displays are fun to visit and photograph and in 2026 there are three venues near me. Today’s post is about the installation at the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge (“DRIWR”). Coincidentally, this was the same venue where I saw a painting back in October 2020, the same year the DRIWR opened. I was surprised to see a framed painting stuck in the middle of the sticks as I had never heard of the DIA’s Inside/Out program before.
The Refuge is not that large and there were only six paintings on display here, so, unlike last year’s trip to Grosse Ile to view and photograph eight paintings, which required driving around the island to view some of them, this was “one-stop shopping” so to speak. I parked and just ambled around.
Even before the DIA posted their official venue list on their website, Refuge employees were posting pictures of the paintings that were already installed.
I am always impressed how the DIA matches the masterpiece to the area of the parks and/or city buildings where they are displayed.
It was a gorgeous day, but the UV index was going to be high starting at 11:00 a.m., so I decided to get to the displays where I’d be walking in the hot sun first, like the fishing pier and the long Monguagon Delta Boardwalk.
First up, the fishing pier.
Down the slope I went to the Korneffel Fishing Pier. It is 700 feet (213 meters) long and from its platform, anglers line up to fish from the western Trenton Channel. I said “good morning” to a few fishermen, but no one had a “catch of the day” that merited taking a photo.
I walked all the way to the end of the pier where the Samuel D. Buchanan was docked. I’d never seen any boats tied up at the dock, let alone a large one like this. I learned it is the same type of tour boat that I was on when I took several boat excursions through Lake Erie Metropark which excursions ceased after the pandemic began.
Look at the sparkling water reflecting on the side of the boat. That is Humbug Island in the background on the left.
Returning up the steep hill I saw the painting.
Next on the agenda was the Kayak Launch.
As I walked on the paved road from the fishing pier to the kayak launch area, in the shadow of the Visitor Center …
… there were signs cautioning drivers to watch out for our feathery and leathery friends. You may recall that Killdeer will build their nest on the ground anywhere, even next to a road. When I was here last year during nesting season, Refuge employees had flagged all the Killdeer nests with tall poles and orange flags to keep people from disturbing those ground nests.
Turtles, as you know are pretty pokey and sadly people are impatient sometimes.
This is one of two kayak launch areas; the other one is in the Delta. There was not much to see here and no one was around – don’t let that water bottle fool you. I got my photo of the locale, painting and info about The Trappers’ Return and moved along.
My third stop was at the beginning of the trailhead.
I had to walk past the trailhead to get to the Delta Boardwalk so I stopped to view and photograph another painting.
I thought this painting, Talking Oak, based on a poem by Lord Alfred Tennyson, was interesting, as well as the story behind it.
Zero breeze – perfect to cross the Delta Boardwalk for painting #4.
There are no railings on this very long boardwalk and my biggest concern while crossing the boardwalk over the Monguagon Delta, is being startled by the carp jumping out of the water, especially during spawning season. They are huge fish and they also make a big splash.
There was not much to see enroute to Jefferson Avenue except a few turtles sunbathing at the shoreline. Will someone help that baby turtle up please? 🙂
I saw a Great Blue Heron and a Red-winged Blackbird squabbling when, I presume, the heron landed too close to its nesting area. The Red-winged Blackbird raised a ruckus, attacking the Heron repeatedly until the latter flew off. I wish I’d taken a photo, but I was awestruck how this bully Blackbird tangled with a bird so much larger than itself even though I’ve witnessed this behavior many times with them attacking the Sandhill Cranes.
At the end of the Boardwalk is Jefferson Avenue and the entrance to the Refuge.
To fully appreciate the below painting entitled Waterfront, you have to see the industrial area that is near the 44-acre Refuge Gateway. (Humbug Marsh is separate and encompasses 410 acres.) The photo above doesn’t show the nearby industry as there are trees obliterating the industrial areas. So, I went back to a walk from October 2020 to illustrate the industrialized area across Jefferson Avenue once the trees are bare. The second kayak launch and the boardwalk are seen in this 2020 photo.
You can see why this was the perfect place to put this industrial-type painting.
After taking my photos, I made my way back along the Boardwalk, while heading toward Humbug Marsh. It was getting warmish by now and I was glad to step into the 300-year old forest, even though it’s not all that dense.
A short woodsy walk and I was at the shelter area for painting #5.
The Lily Pond, depicts a marshy area filled with Pond Lilies. I’ve never seen Pond Lilies or even Water Lotuses at this venue in the past, so I plan to pop back here sometime in August. I pass the DRIWR when I go to Lake Erie Metropark, so it’s not out of my way.
It was easy peasy to find the last painting – it was in the parking lot!
I noticed the painting earlier …you can’t miss it as it is bright and colorful. I’ve seen this painting before at Willow Park when I visited their DIA Inside/Out display on July 2, 2022.
Unfortunately, part of the painting was shaded, but Cycles is plenty vivid anyway.
Terri’s Sunday Stills Challenge this week is: Reflections. I will have some reflections in my Wordless Wednesday post; I will also link to Pepper’s Hiking Challenge One Step at a Time.
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
That was a fascinating tour, Linda! I enjoyed all the paintings, but the last one really popped. 🌈 And it’s Canadian. 😎 Always fun to see the turtles sunning themselves on the rocks. 🐢
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Thank you Debbie! I’m always amazed how well the DIA pairs the paintings to the locale. Yes, that last painting was very vibrant and I saw the same painting at Willow Park at few years ago, but it was near the pool area on a building with an overhang, so the photo was in the shade and did not do it justice. I like the turtles too, especially that little one trying frantically to climb onto the rock. 🙂
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A interesting historical tour.
I am familiar with Morrisseau. There were many fakes of his art work being sold by famous galleries. So prevalent were the forgeries that they were popping up everywhere.
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Thank you Wayne! They usually pair up the different areas of each venue to the paintings. I guess they didn’t know what to match this painting to, so they chose the parking lot. I saw the same painting at Willow Metropark a few years ago. That’s a shame about Morrisseau – unfortunately, someone is always trying to make a profit off someone else’s abilities. I’m sure he was pretty angry to see the fakes popping up everywhere.
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A very cool idea to have art outside along walking paths. More people get to see it.
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I think so too Kate. I have not been to the Detroit Institute of Arts since a field trip in ninth grade, even though anyone in the Tri-County area gets free admission. This is a fun way to combine a walk and see some art. I have been to see another painting at Dingell Park since going here.
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Thanks for the turtle shot 🙂 I surprised myself by deciding the last painting is my favorite of the six. It’s not at all the style I prefer, but something about the way the animals intertwine keeps me looking at it. I also like how the DIA gives you a bit of an art lesson in each of the descriptions. Paintings aside, the architect in me loves the look of the Visitor Center. Beautiful design motif, with a strong barn/shed influence like you’d find on the Midwestern plains. I’m sure it’s a tasteful facility inside as well.
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You’re welcome for the turtles Dave. 🙂 I especially liked that tiny one trying to scramble up onto the rock. I hoped I could have a before-and-after picture of that little guy reaching the top, but no luck there. The last painting is quite unique and I guess they were unsure what area of the Refuge to place it, so they chose the parking lot. I’ve seen the painting before at Willow Park – it was by the swimming pool that time. They were still building the Visitor Center when the Wildlife Refuge grounds officially opened in the Fall of 2020, but, because of the COVID, the Center didn’t open until the following year. It is very nice as well as educational inside. Around the outside of the building is blue mosaic representing the Detroit River. When it is sunny, it looks like waves.
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Oh, that poor little baby turtle! I keep looking at the picture – it’s so sad being left behind. Are they all the same kind of turtle? If so, it’s amazing the difference between the smallest and the largest ones. I do like the way the paintings are selected to match the settings. As you probably guessed my favorite is the William May Egley painting the best. So much to love about those big old and wise oak trees. And their shade feels so protective in the summertime. Thanks for sharing all the art set out in nature!
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Barbara, I wished I could give that baby turtle a boost to get it up on the rock with the others. I had hoped to have a before-and-after shot of it on the bottom, then on the top, but no such luck. These are all map turtles and so many different sizes. I marvel just how many turtles that can be sunning on a rock or a log at one time. They didn’t plop off into the water as I wasn’t close to them. Last Friday I saw a huge turtle sunning on a log by itself. It didn’t see me either, so I got a few shots of it. I’ve never seen one that big at any of the metroparks. I thought of you on that walk because I saw all kinds of pretty pink flowers that looked like hibiscus and when I did a Google image search, they were swamp roses. Remember you told me about seeing them and I asked around and no one knew what I was talking about? I did think you would enjoy the Egley painting and the interesting story about it the best. Glad you liked the nature and art walk!
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Carolina rose, swamp rose, beach rose – I love all those wild roses!
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I know you do Barbara and I used to see your pictures and be so envious of you seeing such gorgeous flowers out in the wild. Well, they had only pink swamp roses but they were everywhere. I was surprised some Lotuses were out and there were lots of Pond Lilies out. I’m guessing it was all the hot, humid weather caused all these beauties to bloom.
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What a lovely hunt for paintings!
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Glad you enjoyed it Anne. It was a fun way to get a little culture, nature and steps all rolled into one!
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These are certainly interesting pairings of art and locale. I know that Chrysler (OK, Stellantis) runs a plant on Jefferson Avenue – is that it in your photo or is it something else?
I wonder how any of those turtles got on that rock!
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I agree JP. The DIA always makes a good effort to pair the paintings with each area of the park where an installation is set up. The Refuge is located on “West” Jefferson and the Humbug Marsh part of it is where there once was a Chrysler plant. There was other industry that’s gone too, including a power plant which was decommissioned and imploded last year. There is a Chrysler/Stellantis plant on “East” Jefferson near Detroit. I’ve never seen it, but every Summer my boss used to ride his bike nine miles from home to work, weather permitting, all along East Jefferson Avenue. He happened to ride past the plant at quitting time for the night shift and someone ran him down. My boss was okay, just some street dirt and the bike was fine too. A lawyer friend of his was driving by, saw him on the ground, helped him out and put the bike in the back of his vehicle. Being a labor attorney for management for many years, my boss was not happy with the union worker who was in a hurry to leave work and ran into him. 🙂
I wonder how those turtles climb up on those rocks too as they are not always flat.
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I love the mix of wildlife and art, Linda! You managed to capture a few great reflections! The water reflected on side of the boat was inspired! The kayak launch also showed the colors in the reflections. Loved the turtle crowd!
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Thank you Terri! I was lucky to get some reflections as the water was so still that day, so that was in my favor. I had better reflections in the older picture as there was some Fall colors too. I was hoping to see some egrets or herons too, but just the turtle crowd crammed together sunbathing. 🙂 I will have some reflections on my Wordless Wednesday post as well.
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What a great idea to display artworks in locations with similar subject matter! Appreciated the accompanying signs also that gave a bit of background for each artist and his work. Thank you for sharing those paintings you discovered on your walk!
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Thank you Nancy! I think it is a great idea as well and I like how closely the DIA pairs the paintings to the venue, right down to specific areas of the park or city. This year there are 34 locations for DIA’s Inside/Out art installations. Last week, I visited another location, but just for one painting since the rest of the paintings were scattered around the City of Ecorse. I have one more place to visit later this Summer, a city I’ve not been to in at least 50+ years.
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What a fun motivation to walk. I’ve seen where you walk and read different pages of children’s books, but what a great idea for looking at and learning about art — and the turtles were an added bonus. 🙂
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Rebecca, you are right – it is fun to walk and see the paintings and their information, especially for me as I am not really a person who would go to the art museum – I’ve not been since a 9th grade field trip, even though we can go for free to the Detroit Institute of Arts. I’m planning to go to another city for their art installation when it gets a little cooler. We have the Story Walk here too. They have several, but there were none near me, but now they have one near Elizabeth Park, so I would like to visit it. They are doing a lot of construction there right now, so I’ll have to visit it another time. Some cities are so creative – the same city has a lot of murals as well, like the fun mural of the animals I photographed last year. Those turtles always look so peaceful sunning on a rock or fallen tree trunk. I felt badly for the little one who wanted to join the family, but couldn’t climb up. 🙂
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Such an interesting idea.
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I think it is interesting and fun as well Monica. I’d rather see these paintings in a nature venue than go to the Detroit Institute of Arts and we can get into the museum for free. I’ve not been since a 9th grade field trip.
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Hey, did you see the new exhibit that has arrived in Boston — all the elephants?
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No, I didn’t hear or see anything so I just Googled it. Wow, that would be something to see and it looks like it is the last venue for this exhibit. Thanks for telling me about it Monica.
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They put together a great tour for park goers. I found it interesting that the Detroit museum was the first in the U.S. to buy a Van Gogh. I read a novel not long ago about how his sister-in-law, Jo, was left with all his work to promote and sell after both Vincent and his brother Theo died. She did not have an easy time of getting people to appreciate her work. Getting into museums, especially outside the Netherlands, was hardest of all.
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Yes, I think they do a wonderful job Eilene, especially pairing the paintings to areas of the park or city. This year the DIA has 34 art installations in the Tri-County area of Southeast Michigan. That’s interesting; I didn’t know that info about the DIA being first and I Googled to see which painting and it was Van Gogh’s “Self Portrait” which they acquired in 1922. I wonder if it was the stigma attached to Vincent’s death that made it difficult to promote or sell his work, or his painting style?
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I believe it was the style that was the hard sell.
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That does make sense – it was a different style than most people might like, or appreciate, like softer-style paintings with more-realistic settings.
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I think my favourite painting was Talking Oak but they are all all fabulous. What a great idea to do that. We have spots here for the Killdeers and Plovers that are blocked off. Also when we were camping, some of the campgrounds had boxes all over the place covering turtle eggs. I always found it odd that the mother lays the eggs and leaves. I have a photo that I took of a young fox kit nose to nose with a mother turtle as she was still on the nest !
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That was my favorite painting too Susan. I think it is a great idea having these art installations. They have 34 different locations for art installations this year in three counties in Southeast Michigan. Last year was the first time I saw Killdeer nests, only because I follow the Wildlife Refuge on Facebook so I saw their post how they flagged (literally, tall sticks with orange flags) the many nests there so people wouldn’t trample them. So I went there – I don’t visit that venue that often. That’s great your parks are blocking the areas off for Killdeer and Plovers (which I think are similar-looking in size, etc.) to nest without damaging the nest.
I was at Council Point Park several years ago and saw a crowd of people standing around, so I went over to see what they were looking at. Luckily, I had the camera with me and watched a mother Snapping Turtle digging a hole for the eggs. I was still working and had to get to work, so couldn’t stay to see her cover the nest, but the next day I was amazed that, had I not looked at the location carefully, I would not have found it again. She has covered the hole completely. Those were some powerful legs/flippers digging that hole. Turtles always have nests around 20 feet from the water, so, directly across the walking path (which is 9 feet wide), is the Ecorse Creek. I researched when they’d hatch and watched the nest carefully, but they hatched overnight/early morning and the babies escaped through a small hole. That must have been a very cool photo of the fox kit nose to nose with the mother turtle still on the nest. We’re so lucky to see these occurrences, aren’t we?
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Yes we are lucky ! I love nature and wildlife and watching the interactions. It was a fox family in Algonquin Park that we saw regularly. A family with 4 kits. It was so much fun watching them. I have a photo of Papa Fox with an egg in his mouth and one of the Female fox feeding her young.
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That’s exciting to watch them on a regular basis so they have no fear of you and tend to hang around and expecially when you see different species interact. I have been following Wild Heart Ranch in Oklahoma on Facebook. They rescue and rehab orphaned birds and animals and have been nurturing this young gray fox that was injured and has neurological issues. He has a chiropractor helping him with his head wobbles. In two weeks’ time he has gotten so much better. Watching him fill out, interact with the volunteers and not fearing them as he initially did. It warms my heart.
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Oh that’s so wonderful! I think the world of the people at these animal sanctuaries that are helping. This Fox family we used to watch, they ended up taking the father to a sanctuary to help him out. He had been hit a couple of times and had mange. I think the mother and all the kits were eventually run over and killed. The problem is, people were feeding them and they were running up to the cars when they heard car doors slam looking for food . Anyways, they were always on the roads and some people drive like maniacs even in the parks.
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Yes, I love this animal sanctuary – the woman who runs it, Annette King, seems tireless in her devotion to these animals. Her husband and daughter also volunteer there. She and the husband run it and live next door and the rest are all volunteers. That’s a shame about your fox family. At the Metroparks they forbid anyone feeding the wildlife. I was on an interpretive walk once with one of the guides one time and I had peanuts in a bag in my pocket and a squirrel ran over and I went to give him a peanut and I was chastised and told never to feed the wildlife (I don’t really think of a squirrel as “wild life” per se when there are raccoons, deer, muskrat and mink running around, not to mention raptors). Once I was there early in the morning and a car drove in and the guy opened the car door and dumped a bucketful of corn on the side of the road inside the park. It wasn’t one of the Metroparks vehicles. He must have felt sorry for the deer. I’ve seen big carrots all along the side of the road inside the park as well.
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I enjoyed seeing the artwork, Linda. I think the Oak Tree is my favorite and the story that it was inspired by. I’m also drawn to the second one since some of my ancestors were French fur traders back in that era.
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It is really a fun way to see famous paintings Ruth. I am not really an art museum fan, so this is a unique way to view art. I liked the story behind the oak tree as well – very interesting! That is cool about your ancestors!
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What a wonderful post Linda! I really enjoyed seeing the selections, and they did match up well with the scenes. You’re lucky you have such wonderful parks to walk in.
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The baby turtle was cute….and the bear cub, but I’m wondering if they trapped his mamma bear?
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I thought that baby turtle was cute too Joni. I wanted to scoop him up and put him with his family. I was wondering the same thing about the baby bear – was its mamma killed and it was orphaned, or did they take it hoping to use it in a circus, a wildlife sanctuary (if such existed then) … hopefully not for a rug.
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Thanks Joni! I really like how the DIA pairs the scenes with the park sites, or even city sites too. I’ve been to Dingell Park since visiting this venue. They had one painting out of a series of six that were around the City. I have another series I intend to go to once the weather is cooler and there is no rain. I’ve not been to that city in many decades, so it should be interesting. I have to map it out as we have a week of rainy and humid days coming up and I don’t know if the DIA paintings there are in in paved or grassy areas. It is near the water. I do feel lucky to have so many wonderful parks to walk in.
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A tree could never fall in love with me. My house is made from trees. 🤔
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You are right Tom – a tree would see your house as a personal affront.
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