Hollingsworth Art Gallery
Each month the Hollingsworth Art Gallery exhibits wildlife-themed art by local and by nationally-known artists.
December 2025
Artist of the Month - Ann Rohlfing
Ann Rohlfing is a professional photographer whose images speak for themselves, and have their own stories to tell. She has carried a camera with her since childhood and her skills evolved first as a Smithsonian volunteer to a professional for the Department of Labor. She and her husband’s photography business flourished locally until his death.
Ann still carries a camera – usually into the woods – and titles her December exhibit “Land of the Fallen Giant” By this she is speaking of a 300-yearold Southern Red Oak that grew near Ridgely’s Adkins Arboretum on Maryland’s Eastern Shore until felled by a storm. She has observed and photographed its gradual change of form and function which she describes as almost “magical.” Her images of the oak’s deterioration capture “secondary” growth and development of its remains like a “family of mushrooms sprouting growths like a “like a sprinkling of yellow popcorn,” a cranefly on a branch spreading its wings to dry, a spider semi-concealed in a spring beauty awaiting a pollinator for lunch – a drama she describes as “beauty and the beast!”
Ann hopes her pictures communicate the “peace and joy” she finds in nature and hopes they inspire others to find the same beauty.
January 2026
Artist of the Month - David Jonathan Cohen
Exhibit - "In the Galapagos Islands" - opening January 8
David Jonathan Cohen photographs birds and other wildlife around the world. Few destinations attract him as often as Patuxent Research Refuge, which he has visited more than 40 times in the last decade. This exhibit, though, comes from David's visiting 8 of the 13 major Galapagos Islands in January 2025.
The islands boast unique species that vary even from island to island. David's subjects include giant tortoises, marine iguanas, Sally Lightfoot crabs, and birds found only on the islands. David’s photos have appeared in books, magazines, newspapers, websites, and exhibitions. He also contributes the use of his photos to conservation nonprofits, including the Friends of Patuxent Research Refuge: he has contributed photos to their annual Exploring Patuxent Research Refuge calendar.
In Rock Creek Park and Linnean Park in Washington, DC, posters featuring David’s photos help visitors identify the birds, butterflies, and other creatures they see.
To see more than 1700 of his photos from around the world, please check Instagram at DavidCohenPhotoDC. To contact David, please email him at DavidCohenPhotoDC@gmail.com.
Meet the artist at a reception in the Visitor Center's Hollingsworth Gallery on January 24th from 2 to 4 pm.
February 2026
Artist of the Month - William Michaels
Photography is an enormously popular pastime. People post dozens of photographs a day on social media, but professionals like William Michaels use extremely sophisticated equipment, travel far and wide to capture unique subjects and produce beautiful detailed images.
William Michaels relates that he'd never used a camera until he and his wife had their first child. He borrowed a Nikon FE2 from a friend. After he returned it, he knew he had to have his own and bought one. For the next four decades since, the marine biologist has navigated cross oceans and continents practicing his interdisciplinary expertise in science and photography.
After retirement in 2014, he's traveled far to visit refuges in Australia and the Americas seeking out birds in places like Kakadu, Panama, Curacel and Sanibel Island. He describes the Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel as a subtropical barrier island with a unique mangrove ecosystem, with of course fascinating birds. Michaels writes that he hopes to inspire the next generation on the benefits of protecting our planet's wildlife and natural habitats. His theme for his February exhibit is the "interconnectivity of wildlife refuges to inform public awareness, stakeholder engagement and policy decisions that maintain - and perhaps expand healthy, sustainable ecosystems."
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