Image: Detroit Institute of Arts
The Detroit Institute of Arts is presenting ‘Guests of Honor: Frederic Church’s Cotopaxi,’ a focused exhibition centered on Frederic Church’s dramatic 1862 painting of an erupting South American volcano. The presentation is on view at the Detroit museum through October 25, 2026, and marks the 200th anniversary of Church’s birth.
The exhibition’s title identifies ‘Cotopaxi’ as its central work. The DIA describes the painting as a depiction of a South American volcano in eruption, but the available exhibition material does not provide further information about the number of works on view, loans, curatorial interpretation or the painting’s current location within the museum.
Church’s work is being shown within an institution whose collection spans numerous fields and historical periods. The museum’s American Wing includes American painting, sculpture and decorative arts from the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries, and is supported by the Associates of the American Wing, a DIA membership group devoted to programming related to those areas.
The presentation is one of several exhibitions listed by the DIA for 2026–27. Other displays include ‘Folk Art,’ a new gallery in the American Wing; ‘Reimagine African American Art,’ a reinstallation tracing African American art from the 1800s through the 1980s; ‘Guests of Honor: Armor as Fashion’; and ‘Guests of Honor: Art of Faith from the Jewish Museum, New York.’ These exhibitions are separate from the Church presentation.
The DIA is located at 5200 Woodward Avenue in Detroit. General admission is free for residents of Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties, as well as for DIA members. The museum lists admission for other visitors at $20 for adults, $10 for seniors or college students, and $8 for visitors ages six to 17; children five and under enter free.
The museum is open Tuesday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Friday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. It is closed on Mondays. ‘Guests of Honor: Frederic Church’s Cotopaxi’ remains on view through October 25, 2026.
