Masterworks To Host Janet Fish Exhibit

The Masterworks Museum of Bermuda Art will present an exhibition showcasing the work of Janet Fish.

A spokesperson said, “On November 15, 2025, the first-ever exhibition of artworks by eminent American painter Janet Fish in Bermuda, the country in which she was raised, will open at Masterworks Museum of Bermuda Art. This exhibition is a five-decade survey which will investigate Fish’s unique approach to still life painting, as well as the intersections between her life, her upbringing in Bermuda, and her artistic practice.

“Fish lived in Bermuda from the age of 10 until her graduation from the Bermuda High School for Girls in 1956. Her grandfather, American Impressionist Clark Greenwood Voorhees, was central to the American artistic community in Bermuda in the early twentieth century, while her mother, painter and sculptor Florence Whistler Fish, also had personal and career ties to the island. Fish therefore grew up surrounded by not just the beauty of Bermuda, but also the splendour of its art and culture, influences which she carried into her career as a professional artist.

“Janet Fish: Place in Time will highlight the resonances of these and other life experiences, particularly the rarely acknowledged but ubiquitous presence of subtropical colours, light and iconography throughout her art. Her enchanting still life paintings, which often included colourful textiles, tropical fruits, flowers and seashells, often drew inspiration from her memories of Bermuda, as well as her extensive travels.

“The island’s dense, layered environment has also been cited as an influence on her layered and complex compositions. Through artworks, objects and archival materials, Janet Fish: Place in Time will explore Fish’s distinctive personal history and artistic approach, showing how the two are interconnected while also marking her as one of American contemporary art’s most daring and individual artists.”

Melissa Messina, an international art curator and Executor of the Mildred Thompson Estate, is co-curating the exhibition. She states: “As a curator who has spent over twenty years organising exhibitions primarily for under-recognised women artists, it is a joy to have the opportunity to work on this timely project with Dr Sara Thom and Masterworks. Fish is among the most important contemporary American painters, pushing boundaries of the still life genre for six decades. Her work is sure to inspire the audience on the island where she was first inspired to become an artist as a child.”

Organising this exhibition, the first for Janet Fish in Bermuda, and a major survey of artworks from across her career, is a particular honour for Masterworks Museum of Bermuda Art. Masterworks Executive Director Risa Hunter states: “It is a profound honour to present this exhibition of artworks by Janet Fish, an artist whose work has redefined contemporary still life with energy, colour, and movement. I am deeply grateful to Fish, whose heart for hosting an exhibition in Bermuda has been the bedrock of this show. I hope that visitors leave inspired, delighted, and as moved by Fish’s work as we have been in preparing this landmark exhibition.”

A spokesperson added, “Janet Fish: Place in Time is curated by Melissa Messina and Dr Sara Thom and organised in close collaboration with the artist’s studio and DC Moore Gallery, New York. A major catalogue designed by Avarie Graham and with essays by Messina and Thom will be published by Masterworks Museum of Bermuda Art in conjunction with the exhibition.

“Support for this exhibition is generously provided by individual and corporate sponsors, including Margot Perot and Family, Michael and Jane Neff, Tracy Gibbons, Carol Faries, Suzanne Schroder, Claudia Wardman, Scott Hunter and Janet Kemp, Jim and Debbie Butterfield and Isabelle Ramsay-Brackstone, as well as BWS-BOSS Ltd., Rosewood Bermuda and DEMCO.

Key Dates And Events

Exhibition Dates: November 15, 2025–April 18, 2026
Private Members’ Preview: Friday, November 14, 2025, 5:30–7:30pm
Public Opening: Saturday, November 15, 2025, 10am–4pm
Public Programme with Exhibition Co-curator Melissa Messina: Saturday, November 15, 2025, 5-7:30pm

“Masterworks Museum of Bermuda Art is open Monday to Saturday, 10am to 4pm. Stay connected through our social media channels @masterworksmuseum, the Masterworks website at masterworksbermuda.org or rickfariesgallery.com for events and information on any of our exhibitions, current or upcoming.”