Crab Catchers, 2023. Acrylic on canvas. 8 x 10 inches. Image courtesy of the artist.
Michael Butler is the Top Honors recipient of the 85th Artist Members Exhibition, selected by Storm Ascher, independent curator, writer, and founder of Superposition Gallery and the Hamptons Black Arts Council.
A self-taught artist with a strong interest in art and history, Butler has exhibited widely over the past three decades. His small-scale narrative paintings draw on mythology, religion, dreams, and storytelling to illuminate overlooked histories—particularly those of enslaved and Indigenous communities on the East End. Rooted in the belief that the past remains a living part of the present, Butler’s work gives visual form to the lives and events often left undocumented. Descended from a Sag Harbor family whose presence dates to the 1920s, Butler has made the village his full-time home since 1988.
Working primarily in acrylic on canvas, Butler describes his practice as narrative or “intuitive” painting. Through a sense of wonder, he constructs imagined realities that merge historical fact and creative vision—echoing a poetic, dreamlike spirit while asserting a distinctly contemporary voice. Butler’s practice reimagines collective memory as an active, evolving narrative, transforming fragments of history into visual allegories that connect personal lineage with broader cultural identity.
This exhibition is organized by Melanie Crader, museum director and curator of visual arts, with support from Philippa Content, museum manager and registrar, and Claire Hunter, museum coordinator and curatorial associate.
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Michael Butler
Michael Butler is an artist, historian, and documentarian based in Sag Harbor, New York. Born on Staten Island and raised in Queens, his family has been connected to Sag Harbor for seven generations, spanning over a century. His great-great-great-grandfather lived in Oyster Bay in 1785. His father, Charles Butler, summered in Sag Harbor beginning in the 1920’s and relocated there full-time in 1982, while his mother, Margaret Burwell, began summering there with her family in the 1930s.
He has served on the board of the Eastville Community Historical Society for more than 20 years, holding positions as president, vice president, and recording secretary. Butler is currently chairperson of the St. David AME Zion Church Cemetery and serves as board secretary for the Long Island Museum of American Art History and Carriages in Stony Brook, and is a lifetime member of the NAACP. Additionally, Butler is a former board member of the East End AIDS Wellness Project, a former member of East Hampton’s Anti-Bias Task Force, and a former member of the Bridgehampton Child Care and Recreation Center.
Sponsors
Visual Arts programs are supported by lead funding from Lucio and Joan Noto, with additional support provided by Barbara and Richard S. Lane, The Michael Lynne Museum Endowment, The Melville Straus Family Endowment, The Giuppy Nantista Fund, and The Hoie Fund.
Additional support provided by Friends of the Museum: Shari and Jeff Aronson, The Artist Profile Archive, William L. Bernhard, Elizabeth Gordon and Woody Heller, The Hayden Family Foundation, Robert Longo and Sophie Chahinian, Elin and Michael Nierenberg, Onna House, Lori and John Reinsberg, Jeff and Audrey Spiegel, Hillary and Jeff Suchman, Jane Wesman and Don Savelson, and Yurman Family Foundation.