Waldemar A. Schmidt Art Gallery
The Waldemar A. Schmidt Art Gallery is located on the first floor of the Bachman Fine Arts Center and features exhibitions of student and professional work on a rotating basis.
The Gallery is free and open to the public during building hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and for events. It is supported by gifts from generous donors and Waldemar A. Schmidt.
The Art on Campus Committee oversees the Gallery and the Wartburg Permanent Collection of art featuring more than 450 pieces of student and professional work. The majority of the permanent collection can be seen in public spaces throughout campus with the largest collection of work on display in Vogel Library.
The collection features paintings, drawing, etchings, sculpture and jewelry including works from Rembrandt, Mauricio Lasansky, Diego Lasansky, Deborah Zlotsky, David Delafield, Paul Oman, Jack Loeb, Barbara Fedeler, Nan Graese Fritschel, Thomas Payne, Dennis Peterka, Ed Charney, Arthur C. Frick II, and more.
Your Pictures
at an Exhibition
The Waverly Arts Center and Wartburg Community Symphony invite you to participate in their 2026 Pictures at an Exhibition Art Competition! Submit art that matches the 14 movements of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, a piece inspired by works in a gallery. Winners may have their works exhibited in the gallery and projected during the symphony concert Oct. 17.
Portraits & Possibilities
The newly organized Waverly Art Center and the Wartburg Community Symphony invite area artists to enter a competition for the art center’s first-ever exhibition celebrating the first symphony concert of the season. The competition highlights the connections between art and music in Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition,” a work featured on the symphony’s Saturday, Oct. 17, program.
Inspired by an exhibition of works by painter and architect Victor Hartmann, Mussorgsky created individual movements depicting these works, connecting them with a “Promenade” theme that leads listeners through the gallery. Artists are encouraged to listen to the music for creative inspiration. Works are not meant to be literal translations but to capture the spirit of the piece. Existing works that match the theme may be submitted.
At the discretion of the judges, selected winners will be eligible for cash prizes from $50 to $125 and possible projection of their work during the Oct. 17 concert. Participants may also be invited to showcase their work at the Waverly Art Center exhibition, set for Oct. 8–30, in the Waldemar A. Schmidt Art Gallery at Wartburg College.
Two-dimensional submissions must be 8 inches by 10 inches or larger and unframed for digitizing/display purposes. Entries must be submitted in person at the main desk of the Wartburg College Vogel Library between Sept. 21 and Oct. 2.The library is open from 8 to 4 p.m. weekdays and 1 to 8 p.m. Sunday. The library is closed on Saturday.
Competition details and a required submission form are available for download. Those unable to drop off their submissions in person are encouraged to email waverlyartscenter@gmail.com.
Ready for more?