While Desert Caballeros Western Museum first began their journey in 1960, their true path was revealed in 1972 after a fire burned down the building. Upon rebuilding, part-time Wickenburg residents Aiken and Jane Fisher saw an opportunity to change the museum into a center for Western art and Western history rather than just focusing on local history. The couple went on to fund the core of the Western art holdings at the museum.
Charles M. Russell (1864-1926), The Navajos, 1919, oil on canvas, 32½ x 44½”. DCWM Collection, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Aiken Fisher. Photo © Terrence Moore.
Since then, the museum grew to include other generous benefactors, and now have a permanent collection including works from well-known Western artists such as Frederic Remington, Charles M. Russell and Maynard Dixon. Inspired by their many gifts over the years, the museum is showing their thanks and praise in the form of the exhibition Collectors’ Legacy: Wickenburg Treasures.
Frederic Remington (1861-1909), Broncho Buster, 1895, bronze, Roman Bronze Works No. 7, cast 1902, 233/8 x 2½”. DCWM Collection. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Aiken Fisher. Photo © Terrence Moore.
“We’ve been very lucky and fortunate in the support we’ve received over the years,” says deputy director and curator Mary Ann Igna, “and it’s continuing, as a lot of people have promised gifts in their wills and estates.”
The Fisher’s donated important works such as The Navajos by Charles M. Russell, depicting a group of Navajo men on horseback riding through a desert scene. “Russell’s attention to detail with tribal costume set this piece apart,” says Igna. “He always paid attention to the details. As far as we know, Russell only created this one image from the Navajo tribe, with no other similar scene [in his oeuvre].”
Allan Houser (1914-1994), My Cat, 1979, marble, 26½ x 14 x 10”. DCWM Collection. Gift of Mrs. Scott Libby Jr. Photo © Terrence Moore.
Another exciting piece in the collection is a Frederic Remington bronze titled Broncho Buster, another donation by the Fisher’s. “This is a very early cast that was created when he was still alive,” says Igna. “We’ve been told that it’s a better casting than the piece from the Remington Museum in New York.”
Other donors, inspired by the Fisher’s, include Mrs. Scott Libby, Mr. and Mrs. John D. Ryan, and Joel and Roberta Rogers, with a significant donation from Laura Evans Ford. In the 1950s, Ford’s family befriended artist Olaf Wieghorst, when they all resided in Wickenburg at the same time. Ford gifted the museum with three Wieghorst oil paintings, 22 watercolors and six Bill Nebeker bronzes, along with her collection of custom-made boots from master craftsman, Al Reynolds. 
Oscar E. Berninghaus (1874-1952), Fenced Land, ca. 1920, oil on canvas, 41½ x 45½”. DCWM Collection. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Aiken Fisher. Photo © Terrence Moore.
Another important piece, My Cat by Chiricahua Apache artist Allan Houser, was donated by Libby. “The Libby family is also supportive of the Heard Museum in Phoenix, Arizona,” Igna explains, “so it made sense that they donated the Houser to us.”
These significant donors have created the backbone of Desert Caballeros, making it possible for them to continually educate the community and share important works of Western art with the public. The museum invites you to celebrate and honor their legacy by viewing their most desired treasures through March 7. Please visit the website for additional information and for updates on open hours. —
Collector’s Legacy: Wickenburg’s Treasures
Through March 7, 2021
Desert Caballeros Western Museum, 21 N. Frontier Street, Wickenburg, AZ 85390
(928) 684-2272,
www.westernmuseum.org
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