Western museum exhibitions continue to include works from private collections, individual artists shows and celebrations of a region’s art. The exploration of photography as an art form and as documentary from its early days to the present is part of a growing evolution as is the recognition of the important role of minorities and underappreciated contributors to the West’s history and development. Black Pioneers: Legacy in the American West continues at the James Museum of Western and Wildlife Art in St. Petersburg, Florida, through January 8, 2023. The history of movements, pioneers and important individuals is portrayed in quilts made by members of Women of Color Quilters Network founded by Dr. Carolyn Mazloomi.Carolyn Crump, The Game Changer, 2018. © Carolyn Crump. From Black Pioneers: Legacy in the American West, James Museum of Western and Wildlife Art, St. Petersburg, FL.

Black Artists of Oregon will open June 10 and continue through December 3, 2023, at the Portland Art Museum. The museum notes that the exhibition serves “to deepen awareness of the talented artists that have shaped and inspired artists regionally and nationally. The exhibition will be the first of its kind to consider the work of Black artists collectively in Oregon, often underrepresented and unacknowledged. Beginning in the 1920s through today, the exhibition captures the African American experience particular to the Pacific Northwest.” Many of the artists have attained national recognition in addition to their regional recognition.Garo Antreasian, Shield, 1965, lithograph, 102/210. Collection of the Tucson Museum of Art. Gift from the Donald L. Graf and Julia B. Graf Revocable Living Trust. From New Mexico Moderns: Selections from the Donald L. and Julia B. Graf Collection, Tucson Museum of Art, Tucson, AZ.

Celebrating the 160th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, Emancipation: The Unfinished Project of Liberation opens at the Amon Carter Museum of American Art in Fort Worth, Texas, March 12, 2023, and continues through July 9. The exhibition “visualizes what freedom looks like for Black Americans today and the legacy of the Civil War in 2023 and beyond” featuring commissions and recent work by contemporary artists. Their work is in response to John Quincy Adams Ward’s bronze sculpture The Freedman, 1863, from the Carter’s collection. “Initially sculpted by Ward before the end of the Civil War,” says the museum, “the figure is depicted on the cusp of liberation, having ruptured his bonds, though they are still present as a reminder of his enslavement. It is one of the first American depictions of a Black figure cast in bronze, and this specific cast from 1863 is the only copy of its kind with a key that releases a shackle from the figure’s wrist…serving as a powerful statement of the still unresolved issue of slavery at the time.”Carl Rungius (1869-1959), Red Fox, 1933, oil on canvas, 30 x 40”. Jackson Hole Preserve, National Museum of Wildlife Art. © Estate of Carl Rungius. From For the Love of Canines, National Museum of Wildlife Art, Jackson Hole, WY.

Another celebration is that of the 150th anniversary of the opening of Yellowstone National Park. Yellowstone: For the Benefit and Enjoyment of the People continues at the Whitney Western Art Museum at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody, Wyoming. The exhibition “considers the natural evolution of the Yellowstone ecosystem as a place and culturally as an idea. The unique landscape, shaped by the geological processes of the last 150 million years, serving as a land of convergence for more than 15,000 years.”Cara Romero, Oil Boom, archival pigment print, 40 x 40.” From Water By Design, Nevada Art Museum, Reno, NV.

The E. L. Wiegand Collection: Representing the Work Ethic in American Art continues through January 1, 2023, at the Nevada Museum of Art. The museum notes, “While many emphasize people undertaking the physical act of labor, others focus on different types of work environments ranging from domestic interiors and rural landscapes to urban cityscapes and industrial scenes. By expanding the definition of the term work ethic to encompass a broad range of activities undertaken by a diverse spectrum of people from various cultural and socioeconomic groups, the collection seeks to acknowledge all those who have devoted their lives to the tireless pursuit of work.”Rhett Turner, Big Horn Sheep, Amendaris Ranch, New Mexico. Courtesy of Rhett Turner and Rizzoli Books. © Rhett Turner. From Conserving America’s Wildlands: The Vision of Ted Turner—The Photography of Rhett Turner, Booth Western Art Museum, Cartersville, GA.Another collection is featured in Women of the West: Highlights from The Fran and Ed Elliott Southwest Women Artists Collection ongoing at Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West in Arizona. The museum notes, “The role of women artists was critical in the development stages of modern Western art. This exhibition focuses on influential women artists connected to Arizona throughout the late territorial period and early 20th century. Beginning in approximately 1890, women artists lived and worked in Arizona in increasing numbers. With no major art centers, few patrons, and minimal support for artistic venues, it was difficult for artists to sustain their careers. Yet women artists came and flourished, bringing significant formal art training and professional experience.”John Quincy Adams Ward (1830-1910), The Freedman, 1863, bronze. From Emancipation: The Unfinished Project of Liberation, Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth, TX.New Mexico Moderns: Selections from the Donald L. and Julia B. Graf Collection opens at the Tucson Museum of Art in Arizona on October 15 and continues through March 19, 2023. The exhibition “centers around Taos, Santa Fe, and Albuquerque from the beginning of the 20th century until the end of the 1970s. These works represent an artistic era marked by abstraction, experimentation and inspiration from the light, land and cultures of New Mexico.”
The Tucson Museum is also featuring More Than: Expanding Identities of Artists from the American West continuing through March 19, 2013. The exhibition “explores how works of art that speak to the ways artists assume multiple roles, serving as not only as a creator of artwork, but as community members, partners, caregivers, storytellers, knowledge bearers, activists, immigrants and countless positions not always evident. Taking a critical look at disparate statistics of artist representation in museums, More Than centers on artists who are women, people of color and persons of intersectional backgrounds. In doing this, TMA engages in a conversation to address inequities and explore opportunities to create a more inclusive interpretation of the American West.”

Western art is also explored in the New Mexico Art Museum’s exhibition Western Eyes: 20th Century Art Here and Now running at the Santa Fe museum through January 23, 2023. It covers “regional developments of modernism including American realism, Indigenous modernism and Native American art, and Mexican modernism. It highlights Southwestern modernist painting and sculpture and display stylistic developments including abstract expressionism, minimalism, and pop.”Thomas D. Mangelsen, Catch of the Day, 1988, photograph. © Thomas D. Mangelsen. From Thomas D. Mangelsen: A Life in the Wild, Briscoe Western Art Museum, San Antonio, TX.

Conservation inspires artists in many media. The Nevada Museum of Art is displaying Water By Design through March 12, 2023. The exhibition “explores the ultimate design challenge: sustaining humanity while preserving a limited natural resource. This exhibition examines water through the lens of artists who have documented the use, exploitation, and preservation of this precious commodity.”

The exhibition Conserving America’s Wildlands: The Vision of Ted Turner—The Photography of Rhett Turner will be at the Booth Western Art Museum in Cartersville, Georgia, through March 26, 2023. Ted Turner has returned biodiversity to several million acres of his own land across the United States. His son, Rhett Turner, has produced a book of photographs taken on his father’s land. The exhibition features over 45 of his color prints.Shedrich Williames, Untitled, 1972, gelatin silver print. Gift of Al Monner, © unknown, research required, 94.36.1. From Black Artists of Oregon, Portland Art Museum, Portland, OR.Thomas D. Mangelson has traveled the world for more than 50 years documenting the natural environment. Thomas D. Mangelsen: A Life in the Wild, containing 40 of his photographs will be at the Briscoe Western Art Museum in San Antonio, Texas, through January 29, 2023. The museum notes, “Every single image in Mangelsen’s portfolio has been taken in the wild under natural conditions; the result of him waiting for the ‘picture perfect moment’ across decades and often in hostile conditions. Such a body of work can only be achieved by having a heightened sense of animal behavior, an uncanny feel for being able to read changing atmospherics in the environment, and patience.”Grandma Moses (1860-1961), Watering the Horses, 1949, tempera on Masonite, 20 x 24”. Collection of the Nevada Museum of Art. Purchased with funds provided by the E.L. Wiegand Foundation. From The E. L. Wiegand Collection: Representing the Work Ethic in American Art, Nevada Museum of Art, Reno, NV.For the Love of Canines opens at the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson, Wyoming, on October 22. “Wild canines, including foxes, coyotes, and wolves,” the museum explains, “have held significant social and cultural meaning to humans worldwide throughout history. However, there are conflicted emotional opinions regarding these familiar predators. Foxes, for example, while prized for their beauty and their cunningness, are despised for preying on smaller livestock, such as chickens and ducks. Coyotes, a canine species native to North America, nearly brought to extinction during Western settlement, are also part of some Native cultures’ cosmologies…For the Love of Canines questions humans’ relation and fascination with canines, whether love or loathing, through works of art from NMWA’s permanent collection.” 

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C.M. Russell Museum
400 13th Street North
Great Falls, MT 59401
(406) 727-8787 • www.cmrussell.org

The main entrance of the C.M. Russell Museum in Great Falls, Montana.

The C.M. Russell Museum is one of the nation’s finest museums of American Western art and the home of the most complete collection of Russell art and memorabilia in the world. In 1953, the C.M. Russell Museum opened in a small gallery, housing the personal Russell collection of family friend Josephine Trigg. The museum has since expanded multiple times and now occupies a full city block that includes the Russell’s home and log studio, which together were designated a National Historic Landmark in 1966. C.M. Russell Museum, The Jerkline, 1912, oil on canvas, 24¼ x 36”, by Charles M. Russell (1864-1926). Collection of the C.M. Russell Museum; Gift of Fred Birch.

Visitors browse artwork at the C.M. Russell Museum.

The permanent collection includes more than 12,000 objects from Charles M. Russell as well as the works of such well-known artists as O.C. Seltzer, Winold Reiss, J.H. Sharp, E.E. Heikka, E.I. Couse, Olaf Wieghorst, Henry Farny and Frank Tenney Johnson. In addition to the Russell House and Studio, the museum also features Charles M. Russell: The Legacy of America’s Cowboy Artist and The Bison: American Icon, Heart of Plains Indian Culture as permanent exhibitions and hosts numerous temporary exhibitions throughout the year.

Major Upcoming Exhibitions
Modest Yet Masterful
Through March 2023

Call to Glacier
Through May 2023

Greetings from Charlie
Through May 2023

Artists of the Contemporary West
Through May 2023

Admissions & Membership
$14 Adults
$11 Seniors (60+), Veterans
$4 Students
FREE Children (age 5 and under)
FREE Active Military and family

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Museum of Western Art
1550 Bandera Highway, Kerrville, TX 78028
(830) 896-2553 www.museumofwesternart.com 

An exterior view of the Museum of Western Art.

Situated high on a hill overlooking Kerrville, this unique museum was designed by famed Texas architect O’Neil Ford and features a rugged hacienda-type exterior, manicured grounds graced with larger-than-life-size bronze sculptures, and distinctive handcrafted Boveda ceilings. Multiple galleries house paintings and sculptures done by past and present acclaimed Western artists. Special exhibits change throughout the year. The museum is dedicated to excellence in the collection, preservation and promotion of Western heritage and the education and cultural enrichment of its diverse audiences.

Through October 29 is the 39th Annual Roundup Exhibition and Sale featuring over 100 original works done by nationally recognized Western artists. The museum’s treasure trove of western artifacts and priceless art leaves a lasting impression on all who visit this Texas Hill Country treasure.

Major Upcoming Exhibitions
39th Annual Roundup Exhibition and Sale
September 24-October 30, 2022

Works we love: Old and New Favorites from our Permanent Collection
November 5, 2022-March 25, 2023

A Taos Influence
February 11-March 25, 2023

40 Years of Western Art
April 1 - July 8, 2023

Admission & Membership
$7 Adults
FREE Current and former members of the military and first responders
Membership starting at $75 per year

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Phippen Museum

4701 Highway 89 North, Prescott AZ, 86301
(928) 778-1385 phippen@phippenartmuseum.org
www.phippenartmuseum.org The Phippen Museum grounds in Prescott, Arizona.

Prescott, Arizona’s Phippen Museum is named after local artist and first president of the Cowboy Artists of America, George Phippen. It presents museum-quality Western fine art exhibitions, educational opportunities and special art events for visitors of all ages. The 17,000-square-foot facility currently houses four galleries, two studio replicas, a research library, a multipurpose classroom, a well-stocked Museum Store and a Western heritage gallery featuring artifacts, photos, memorabilia, a working chuck wagon and the Arizona Rancher & Cowboy Hall of Fame. The museum is also proud to be the home of the Prescott Area Art Trust’s Solon H. Borglum Collection, a special display featuring bronze sculptures, paintings, furniture and other extraordinary objects from the artist’s life. And, in addition to several outstanding permanent displays, the museum also offers continuous rotating exhibits and numerous art and heritage programs throughout the year. 

Major Upcoming Exhibitions
Click: Western Focus
October 8, 2022-March 5, 2023

Hellraisers: Real Women of the Old West
November 5, 2022-January 22, 2023

Arizona Pastel Artists’ Association 2023 Open International Exhibit & Sale
February 19-April 23, 2023

East Meets West: The Art of Wei Tai
March 18-July 23, 2023

Admission & Membership
$10 Adults
$8 Seniors, AAA Members and Veterans
$5 Students (with ID)
FREE Children (12 and under)
Individual membership starting at $40 per year

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National Museum of Wildlife Art
2820 Rungius Road, Jackson, WY 83001
(307) 733-5771 • info@wildlifeart.org
www.wildlifeart.org

Founded in 1987, the National Museum of Wildlife Art is a world-class museum and nonprofit located in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The museum’s collection boasts more than 5,000 artworks representing wild animals from around the world. Featuring work by prominent artists such as N.C. Wyeth, Georgia O’Keeffe, Andy Warhol, Bob Kuhn, Albert Bierstadt and Carl Rungius—the museum’s unsurpassed permanent collection chronicles much of the history of wildlife in art, from 2500 BCE to the present. The National Museum of Wildlife Art’s JKM Gallery.

Built into a hillside overlooking the National Elk Refuge, the museum received the designation “National Museum of Wildlife Art of the United States” by order of Congress in 2008. In addition to the impressive galleries, the museum also includes a museum shop, interactive children’s gallery, Palate restaurant and the outdoor Sculpture Trail. Located just two and a half miles north of the Jackson Town Square, and two miles from the gateway of Grand Teton National Park, the museum is ideally situated. National Museum of Wildlife Art, Red Fox, 1933, oil on canvas, 30 x 40”, by Carl Rungius (1869-1959). Jackson Hole Preserve, National Museum of Wildlife Art. © Estate of Carl Rungius.

National Museum of Wildlife Art, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada, photograph by Ronan Donovan, National Geographic. Featured in Wolves: Photographs by Ronan Donovan.

The National Museum of Wildlife Art is proud to welcome more than 60,000 visitors through its doors annually, including more than 8,000 children. For visitors who prefer to engage virtually this year, the museum offers a wide range of the collection digitally on  its website. 

Major Upcoming Exhibitions
For the Love of Canines
October 22, 2022-September 30, 2023

Wolves: Photographs by Ronan Donovan
November 5, 2022- April 29, 2023

Survival of the Fittest: Envisioning Wildlife and Wilderness with the Big Four, Masterworks from the Rijksmuseum Twenthe and the National Museum of Wildlife Art
May 20-August 20, 2023

Admission & Membership
$17 Adults (with discounts for seniors, military and children)
FREE Members
Membership starting at $50

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Southern Utah Museum of Art
13 S. 300 West, Cedar City, UT, 84720
(435) 586-5432 • www.suu.edu/suma

Southern Utah Museum of Art visitors view the Jimmie F. Jones retrospective Find the Distance during summer 2020.

Allan Houser (1914-1994), Raindrops, 1993, bronze. Stillman Sculpture Court at Southern Utah Museum of Art.

Southern Utah Museum of Art located in Cedar City, Utah.

The Southern Utah Museum of Art, on the campus of Southern Utah University, features the artwork of regional artists known for their landscapes, faculty and student artists from the SUU Department of Art & Design, as well as emerging and distinguished artists from around the country. Strengths of the nearly 2,000-object permanent collection include the body of work by Jimmie Jones that exemplifies his notable career in the region, as well as a robust collection of prints featuring well-known artists such as Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Salvador Dalí, Katsushika Hokusai, Thomas Hart Benton and others. Part of the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Center for the Arts, which also includes the Utah Shakespeare Festival, SUMA is free and open to the public.

Major Upcoming Exhibitions
Reclaiming Agency: Ukrainian Women Photographers Today
October 8-December 23, 2022

Resistance, Memory, and Play: The Work of Joseph DeLappe
October 8-December 23, 2022

Jimmie Jones: My Passion My Odyssey
October 8, 2022-March 2023

Lennart Anderson: A Retrospective
June 10-September 23, 2023

Admission & Membership
FREE

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Steamboat Art Museum
807 Lincoln Avenue, Steamboat Springs, CO 80487
www.steamboatartmuseum.org
(970) 870-1755

The exterior of the Steamboat Art Museum.Steamboat Art Museum is located in the heart of downtown Steamboat Springs, Colorado. The museum presents three new exhibitions annually, celebrating the work of living masters as well as historic work relevant to the culture and heritage of the West.

Opening December 3 is “The New West: The Rise of Contemporary Indigenous and Western Art” with Guest Curator Seth Hopkins of the Booth Western Art Museum. Tracing the evolution of Western art from the early instructors and students at the Institute of American Indian Arts to contemporary Western artists today, the exhibit includes masterworks from museums and private collections plus works for sale by living artists. Summer 2023, SAM presents a retrospective by husband and wife TD Kelsey (sculpture )and Julie Oriet (pastels and paintings). Fall brings the annual Plein Air Event and Sale.

Major Upcoming Exhibitions
“The New West: The Rise of Contemporary Indigenous and Western Art” with Guest Curator Seth Hopkins of the Booth Western Art Museum
December 3, 2022-April 15, 2023

TD Kelsey and Julie Oriet: A Retrospective
May 26-September 2, 2023 

SAM Plein Air Event 2023
September 22-29, 2023

SAM Plein Exhibition 2023
September 29-November 4, 2023  

Admission & Membership
FREE
Memberships starting at $50 for individuals/$100 for families.
$250 Art Benefactors receive early entry to Plein Air Sales
$1,000 Helen Rehder Society
$5,000 and above –  Exhibit Sponsors

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The Brinton Museum
239 Brinton Road, Big Horn, WY 82833
(307) 672-3173
info@thebrintonmuseum.org
www.thebrintonmuseum.org 

The Brinton Museum is located on the 620-acre Quarter Circle A Ranch. The Ranch House was opened to the public as the Bradford Brinton Memorial in 1961 and is on the National Register of Historic Places. On exhibit are works by artistic masters Frederic Remington, Charles M. Russell, Edward Borein and Frank Tenney Johnson.The Forrest E. Mars, Jr. Building at the Brinton Museum.

Knowledgeable guides will take you on a tour of the property and Forrest E. Mars, Jr. Building’s exhibits of Western and American Indian art. Rotating shows in the S. K. Johnston, Jr. Family Gallery and the Jacomien Mars Reception Gallery feature a diversity of art including works from the permanent collection.

Visitors are invited to stroll around the Brinton gardens, grounds and nature trails. Brinton Nature Trail is an easy, 0.7-mile walking trail. The Quarter Circle A Nature Trail is a primitive 2.4-mile hiking trail intended for wildlife viewing. Trails are accessible seasonally, weather permitting.

Major Upcoming Exhibitions
Last of the Lakota Dream Catchers: The Art of Roger Broer & Richard Red Owl
Through October 30, 2022

2022 Artists in Residence Show
Through October 30, 2022

Brinton 101 – Small Works Show
November 5-December 23, 2022

18th Illustrator Show – Ted Waddell
February 10-April 23, 2023

Dan Powell - Selections from the Permanent Collection
April 29-June 18, 2023

Admissions & Membership
FREE admission
Memberships starting at $50

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Sears Art Museum
Utah Tech University
155 South University Avenue, St. George, UT 84770
(435) 652-7909 • www.searsart.com

The Sears Art Museum is located 50 minutes from Zion National Park. The beauty of this area is awe inspiring. The Sears Art Museum reflects this in its wonderful space and exciting exhibits. People are attracted and appreciate their visits to the Sears to discover meaningful connections with artistic expressions and to enjoy opportunities for conversation, contemplation and a cooperative experience.The Sears Art Museum sculpture garden.This year, the museum celebrates the 36th Annual Robert N. and Peggy Sears Invitational Art Show and Sale, opening every President’s Day weekend. The Gala and preview will be held February 18 and opens to the public February 19. The exhibit runs until April 2, 2023. This is the only fundraiser for the Sears, and 37 percent of purchases are a donation and therefore tax deductible. More information and times can be found on the website.Sears Art Museum, Mystery of the Southwest, oil, 18 x 36”, by Alexander Selytin.

Sears Art Museum, Utah Winter, oil, 30 x 40”, by Karl Thomas.

The show boasts a variety of art including landscape, portrait, Western, sculpture and contemporary pieces. Patrons vie to collect art by Jeremy Winborg, Mike Malm, Julie Rogers, Spike Ress, Roland Lee, Lynn Griffin, George Handrahan, Alexander Selytin, Royden Card, Doug Adams and many of the other 140 artists. 

Major Upcoming Exhibitions
WOW: Women Out West Professional Artists of Utah
September 16, 2022-November 22, 2023

A Brush with Africa
November 29, 2022-January 12, 2023

UT Art Department Showcase
April 21-May 5, 2023

The Robert N. and Peggy Sears Art Collection & Purchase Prize Winners
June 16-August 25, 2023

Admission & Membership
FREE 

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