William G. Kerr, the founder and chairman emeritus of the National Museum of Wildlife Art, died on July 4 in Oklahoma City. He was 85 years old.
Kerr—along with his wife Joffa, who passed away in 2022—was part of the original 10 founding trustees of the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The Kerrs began collecting wildlife art in 1962 when Joffa gifted her husband a painting of a panfish to celebrate his graduation from law school. In their third year as wildlife art collectors, they purchased Carl Rungius’ Wanderers Above Timberline, widely considered the greatest painter of North American big game. By 1984, the Kerrs had a museum-quality collection of wildlife art and wanted to share it with others. By the time the museum opened in 1987, in a 5,000-square-foot rented space in downtown Jackson, the Kerrs’ personal collection made up the bulk of the museum’s collection.
Bill and Joffa Kerr.
“When Bill Kerr talked about how art is essential in everyone’s life and that beauty should be shared, everyone got so excited and took ownership of the new museum. It started out as a community museum…and it still is,” says Sue Simpson Gallagher, the museum’s first curator and longtime board trustee. “The community felt that they had a part in its inception and growth. There is nothing elitist about it. That was Bill and Joffa Kerr’s goal…because of the Kerrs’ involvement in the art world, we had great shows—right from the beginning.”
“We have lost more than just a museum founder but a true visionary in the art world,” says museum director Steve Seamons.
Bill and Joffa Kerr at the construction site for the National Museum of Wildlife Art.
Images courtesy the National Museum of Wildlife Art.
“Speaking about the museum in 1994, Kerr said, ‘May it long serve those who come to this place in search of the wild, the natural, the forgotten, and the serene.’ One thing that will never be forgotten is the legacy of Bill and Joffa Kerr. This museum is a testament to their vision, philanthropy and enduring impact on the art world.”
In a speech celebrating the museum’s 25th anniversary in 2012, Kerr said, “Nature is as fragile as it is fierce. Our institution holds and cares for some of humankind’s most thoughtful and spirited portrayals of the natural world as we have known it. That is a legacy we have the opportunity to embellish and preserve.” —
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