Beyond the West

Museums around the country are celebrating the American West by looking past some of the more iconic imagery.

By John O’Hern

The heterogeneity of the American West has always been a given, but for many years popular culture only celebrated a thin slice through its complexities—cowboys and Indians, sheriffs and outlaws, barmaids and barroom brawls and, of course, the landscape. Over time, visual artists, writers and scientists began to look into and beyond the romantic stereotypes and to present a fuller understanding of the richness of the West.

Anouk Masson Krantz, American Cowboys, 2021, pigment print. © Anouk Masson Krantz. From Anouk Masson Krantz: “American Cowboys” at the Briscoe Western Art Museum, San Antonio, Texas.

In the coming months, museums will host exhibitions that will examine the roles of women, gays and lesbians, and people of color in the development of the West, as well as developments in technology that have influenced its depiction.

The Briscoe Western Art Museum in San Antonio is presenting Anouk Masson Krantz: “American Cowboys” starting September 29 through January 24, 2024. The award-winning French fine art photographer presents minimalist photographs revealing “the authentic daily lives of humble and virtuous American cowboys,” the museum explains. Krantz says, “I love to exchange with those who are different, those with another set of convictions. I try to learn about them and to understand them, what is important to them, what they love and what they fear, so that I might learn what makes us different and makes us the same.”

Anouk Masson Krantz, American Rancher, 2018, pigment print, 39 x 58 in. © Anouk Masson Krantz. From Anouk Masson Krantz: “American Cowboys” at the Briscoe Western Art Museum, San Antonio, Texas.The work of an American photographer who spent four years on a Texas Ranch is on view at the Eiteljorg Museum in Indianapolis. The first rotation of Laura Wilson: Lambshead Ranch Revisited runs through November 26 and a second rotation begins December 3. The museum notes, “This exhibition examines the implicit female gaze in Wilson’s work. She depicts moments of solitude, vulnerability, and fellowship among the men who work at ranch as well as women’s important role in maintenance and care. These moments are contrasted by images of harsh landscapes, brutal labor and animal life. Even though this is one of Wilson’s early projects in her photography career, visitors will appreciate the ingenuity and visionary perspective of one of America’s most influential female photographers.”

William Herbert “Buck” Dunton (1878-1936), Mountain Man (Hombre de la montaña), ca. 1909, oil on canvas. Collection of Phoenix Art Museum. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Read Mullan. From William Herbert “Buck” Dunton: A Mainer Goes West at the Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, Arizona.

When the great photographers of the 19th century trekked through the West on scientific surveys, they often had mule teams to carry their equipment. The Autry Museum of the American West in Los Angeles will present Out of Site: Survey Science and the Hidden West, beginning May 19, 2024. The museum notes, “Out of Site focuses on three technological revolutions to examine how visual technologies, artistic interventions, and the workings of state power have evolved in tandem with the Western landscape: wet-plate photography, used to theorize geological processes; the rise of aerial photography and pattern recognition; and the increasing use of drones, satellites and other long-range photographic technologies to image secretive sites, military installations and other technologically mediated locales.”

The dissemination of images of the West has evolved as well. The Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art in Norman, Oklahoma, continues its exhibition Yellowstone in Color: Thomas Moran & Louis Prang Print the West through November 26. It documents the production of the first commercial color images of the West. Louis Prang commissioned Moran to create watercolors of the newly opened Yellowstone National Park in 1873 and created chromolithographs to be sold to the public.

Fernand Lungren, Bastions of the Painted Desert, ca. 1910, oil on canvas, 20 x 40”. Laguna Art Museum Collection, 2010.002.001. Gift of Nancy Dustin Wall Moure. From Bohemian of the Arroyo Seco: Idah Meacham Strobridge at the UCI Jack and Shanaz Langson Institute and Museum of California Art University of California, Irvine.

The multicultural development of the West is documented in several museum exhibitions.

The James Museum of Western and Wildlife Art in St. Petersburg, Florida, has organized the exhibition From Far East to West: The Chinese American Frontier opening October 14 and running through January 28, 2024. The exhibition also includes paintings of Native American history by Z.S. Liang, who immigrated from China to the United States in the 1980s.

Black Pioneers: Legacy in the American West opens March 2, 2024, at the Stark Museum of Art in Orange, Texas, and continues through June 22. The legacy is illustrated through quilts created by the Women of Color Quilters Network especially for this exhibition. The museum notes, “Dispelling the myth that Black people in the Old West were mostly cowboys, Black Pioneers: Legacy in the American West, shows rich diversity in their occupations and achievements in society, religion, education and the arts…Choosing quilts as the visual medium for this exhibition accentuates the intersections of African Americans in the Western Frontier while informing others about the art form and its important role in African American history.”

Out West: Gay and Lesbian Artists in the Southwest 1900-1969opens at the New Mexico Museum of Art in Santa Fe on November 11 and continues through September 2.

Laura Wilson, Sonny Edgar Sorting in the West Corrals, 1987, silver gelatin print on paper. Museum purchase, 1991.3.8. From Laura Wilson: Lambshead Ranch Revisited at the Eiteljorg Museum, Indianapolis, Indiana.

The Millicent Rogers Museum in Taos, New Mexico, highlights Women Artists in the MRM Collection, honoring women’s artistic production and accomplishments in the Southwest, through March 2024. The museum honoring the memory of the collector and patron of the arts was established by her son, Paul Peralta-Ramos, who added to the collections that document the arts and cultures of the Southwest.

The contributions to Western art by a writer, bookbinder and gallery owner are documented in the exhibition Bohemian of the Arroyo Seco: Idah Meacham Strobridge at the UCI Jack and Shanaz Langson Institute and Museum of California Art of the University of California, Irvine. It opens September 30 and continues through January 13, 2024. The museum notes, “Bohemian of the Arroyo Secois the first exhibition to look at Strobridge’s Little Corner of Local Art gallery and to acknowledge her important contribution to the development of Los Angeles culture. Her gallery was a popular gathering place for the writers, artists and craftspeople of the Arroyo Seco, and gave rising talents some of their earliest exposure.”

Cynthia Lockhart, Cool Jazz Hot Jam, 2021. © Cynthia Lockhart. From Black Pioneers: Legacy in the American West at the Stark Museum of Art, Orange, Texas.

Exhibitions of the work of individual artists continue to highlight museum offerings.

William Herbert “Buck” Dunton: A Mainer Goes West, continues at the Phoenix Art Museum in Arizona through June 30, 2024. Dunton, born in Maine and later known to his friends as “Buck,” is known as a founding member of the Taos Society of Artists in New Mexico and for his romantic portrait and landscape paintings of the Southwest. The exhibition was created in collaboration with the Harwood Museum in Taos, which celebrates its centennial in an exhibition continuing through January 28.

The exhibition Her West: New Work by Jessica Glenn and Amy Brakeman Livezey continues at the Hockaday Museum of Art through December 23. The museum notes, “This two-person exhibit focuses on themes and stories of historic women of the American West told through two distinct contemporary artistic styles. Using paint, subtraction tools, bits of ephemera and photo transfer techniques, Livezey expresses in modern form her interest in Western history, feminism, the human form and portraiture. Glenn’s paintings are an homage to the people, architecture, flora and fauna of the Old and New West.”

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Booth Western Art Museum
501 N. Museum Drive • Cartersville, GA 30120
(770) 387-1300 • marketing@boothmuseum.org
www.boothmuseum.org

Booth Western Art Museum, Red Butte with Mountain Men, 1935, oil on canvas, 95 x 213”, by Maynard Dixon (1875-1946). Booth Western Art Museum permanent collection, Cartersville, Georgia.

The world’s largest permanent exhibition space for Western art is in Cartersville, Georgia, at the Booth Western Art Museum. Open since 2003 and located just north of Atlanta along I-75, the Booth is the largest museum of its kind in the Southeast and an affiliate to the Smithsonian Institution. At 120,000 square feet, the Booth is an architectural wonder, designed to resemble a modern pueblo and constructed from Bulgarian limestone. The Booth’s permanent collection of Western art, presidential portraits and letters, and Civil War art allows visitors to “See America’s Story”—the land, people, struggles, dreams and legends—in paintings, sculpture, photography and artifacts.

Booth Western Art Museum, Teton Encampment, 1982, oil on canvas, 48 x 40”, by G. Harvey (1933-2017). Booth Western Art Museum permanent collection, Cartersville, Georgia.

Booth Western Art Museum, Pony Express, 1984, bronze, 61 x 51 x 30”, by Harry Jackson (1924-2011). Booth Western Art Museum permanent collection, Cartersville, Georgia.

The Booth’s permanent collection covers more than a dozen galleries, showcasing legendary artists such as Frederic Remington and Charles M. Russell to contemporary masters Howard Terpning and Andy Warhol. Unique to the Booth, the Millar Presidential Gallery displays a portrait and original hand-signed letter from each United States president. Supplementing the permanent collection are several temporary galleries, hosting 10 to 12 exhibitions per year. For patrons that might not be ready to visit the museum because of Covid, recorded and live adult lectures and programs are posted to the museum’s website and Facebook page for those to enjoy in the comfort of their home. Also, Booth offers a 3D walk-through tour of each temporary exhibition to make you feel as if you are walking through the gallery.

Major Upcoming Exhibitions
Eye on the Prize: The Steve & Milah Lynn Collection
September 23, 2023- January 14, 2024
Dorothea Lange & Pirkle Jones: Death of a Valley
November 11, 2023- June 9, 2024

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Briscoe Western Art Museum
210 W. Market Street • San Antonio, TX 78205
(210) 299-4499 • www.briscoemuseum.org

A view of the Briscoe Western Art Museum from the river. Credit: Briscoe Western Art Museum.

The West starts at the Briscoe Western Art Museum, located on the banks of the iconic River Walk in the heart of downtown San Antonio, Texas. Bringing the vibrant culture and heritage of the American West to life through painting, sculpture, photography and historical relics, the Briscoe shares the stories of the Native American, vaquero, American cowboy, pioneering women and the landscape and wildlife that define the American West.

Briscoe Western Art Museum, A Pueblo Indian Weaver, 1911, oil on canvas, 30 x 36”, by Eanger Irving Couse (1866-1936). Briscoe Western Art Museum Permanent Collection. Gift of the Jack and Valerie Guenther Foundation.

Briscoe Western Art Museum, Old Baldface, ca. 1940, oil on canvas. 30 x 40”, by Carl Rungius (1869-1959). JKM Collection ®, National Museum of Wildlife Art. © Estate of Carl Rungius.

The museum features a wide range of artists including the canonical George Catlin, Albert Bierstadt, Frederic Remington and Fritz Scholder, and contemporary works from Mark Maggiori, Howard Terpning, John Coleman and Bonnie Marris. Together, the museum’s permanent collection, exhibitions and educational programs reflect the region’s rich history and traditions, filling 14 galleries and the McNutt Sculpture Garden, making it a must for anyone who loves the West. The Briscoe features contemporary Western art, including its annual Night of Artists Exhibition and Sale, featuring more than 85 of today’s top Western artists and more than 280 works of art. The museum is open Thursday to Monday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day.

Major Upcoming Exhibitions
2024 Night of Artists
March 22-23, 2024, Opening Weekend Events, Celebration and Live Auction
March 24-May 5, 2024, Public Exhibition and Sale
Survival of the Fittest
June 14-September 8, 2024
Envisioning Wildlife and Wilderness with the Big Four, Masterworks from the Rijksmuseum Twenthe and the National Museum of Wildlife Art
Storytellers
October 18, 2024- January 12, 2025
Narrative Art and the West

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Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum
4610 Carey Avenue • Cheyenne, WY 82001
(307) 778-7290 • info@oldwestmuseum.org
www.oldwestmuseum.org

The Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum, founded in 1978, features a combination of artwork and rodeo history like no other. Spanning 10 galleries and a newly opened expansion, the museum aims to center the Western experience through the lens of Western art and the stories of the Cheyenne Frontier Days.Featuring three art shows during the year, the museum is a hub for some of the best artists in the nation, including Western paragons such as Chris Navarro and Brandon Bailey.

The entrance to the Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum.

The museum’s March exhibition, the Western Spirit Juried Art Show, features artists from around the world, both established and emerging, and breathes life into the stories of the modern American West. In addition, the largest exhibition is the grand Cheyenne Frontier Days Western Art Show and Sale in late July, which features a dazzling display of classic Western pieces from more than 50 hand-selected artists and a thrilling opening reception that kicks off the Cheyenne Frontier Days celebration. At the end of the year, exhibitions evolve for the museum’s November show, the New Frontiers Juried Art Show and Sale, which offers a glimpse into the cutting-edge contemporary Western artwork, from artists that break the mold of their respective mediums.

Major Upcoming Exhibitions
New Frontiers Art Show and Sale
November 3-December 3, 2023
Western Spirit Art Show & Sale
March 2-April 14, 2024
Cheyenne Frontier Days Western Art Show & Sale
July 18-August 11, 2024
Admissions & Membership
$12 Adults (Military and senior discounts available)
$6 Children

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

Situated high on a hill overlooking the city of Kerrville, Texas, this unique museum was designed by famed Texas architect O’Neil Ford and features a rugged hacienda-type exterior and interior boasting distinctive handcrafted Boveda ceilings. The grounds are graced with multiple larger-than-life bronze sculptures. The 14,000 square feet of interior space salutes the timeless mystique of the Old West with an impressive permanent collection of paintings and sculptures, all done by past and present renowned Western artists. A multitude of Western artifacts and priceless art leaves a lasting impression on all who visit this Hill Country treasure.

The Museum of Western Art’s main gallery.

This is also a benchmark year for the Museum of Western Art, which celebrates its 40th anniversary. “We celebrated the actual date of our opening 40 years ago this past April, we’ve held a series of workshops featuring top-name Western artists skilled in their particular genre, revamped our website, published numerous podcasts with select Western artists and anticipate having one of the very best Roundups here in the fall,” says Darrell Beauchamp, executive director. “In addition, we’ve added two exceptional bronzes to our exterior grounds. Winning the Iron Shirt by Fritz White and Thanks for the Rain by Joe Beeler are on loan from the City of Kerrville and receiving rave reviews from visitors around the globe.”

The museum’s 40th Annual Roundup Exhibition and Sale features more than 60 of the top names in Western art. Visitors can stay connected with all museum happenings through its new website, www.museumofwesternart.com.

Major Upcoming Exhibitions
40th Annual Roundup Exhibition and Sale
Through October 28, 2023
Glory and Grime: The Art of Susanne Vincent
January 13-March 2, 2024
Two Perspectives: Scott Christensen and Quang Ho
July 6-August 31, 2024

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

A view of the beautiful National Museum of Wildlife Art grounds.

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, Ai Weiwei, Thomas Moran and Carl Rungius, the museum’s unsurpassed permanent collection chronicles much of the history of wildlife in art, from 2,500 B.C. to the present.

National Museum of Wildlife Art, Dancing Bear, pre-2009, 8 x 4½ x 2¾”, by Ashevak Adla. Gift of Dale and Jay Kaplan, National Museum of Wildlife Art.

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, Fragile Wilderness, Ostriches, Damaraland, photograph, by Tomasz Szpila. © Tomasz Szpila / Mkapa Awards. Photo courtesy of Nature’s Best Photography.

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.

Major Upcoming Exhibitions
Transformations: Wildlife in Inuit Art and Culture
October 21, 2023-May 4, 2024
Benjamin Mkapa African Wildlife Photography Awards
November 4, 2023- April 21, 2024
Environmental Impact II
May 25-August 25, 2024
Admission & Membership
$18 Adults (with discounts for seniors, military and children)
FREE Members
Membership starting at $50

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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 in Prescott, Arizona, features museum-quality fine art of the American West. Named after local artist and first president of the Cowboy Artists of America, George Phippen, it presents permanent and changing exhibits throughout the year along with educational art and heritage programming. The 17,000-plus-square-foot facility also boasts four galleries, two studio replicas, the museum store, a multipurpose classroom, research library and four permanent exhibits. They include the Bill & Marion Gary Western Heritage Gallery (home to the Arizona Rancher & Cowboy Hall of Fame), the George Phippen Gallery, the Solon H. Borglum Collection Room and the Ray Swanson Gallery. Some of the most iconic names in Western art have been featured at the Phippen, including Olaf Wieghorst, Will James, Marjorie Reed and Edward S. Curtis. Present-day Western artists represented have included Bill Nebeker, John Coleman, Bill Anton and Ken Rowe.

A view of the Phippen Museum in Prescott, Arizona.

“In 2024 the Phippen Museum’s annual Western Art Show & Sale will celebrate its 50th anniversary in historic downtown Prescott, Arizona. But what most people don’t know is that the show existed before the museum and, in fact, was the driving force that created funding for its original construction,” says executive director Edd Kellerman. “[The show] is a much-anticipated, fun-filled annual event bringing thousands of visitors to the area over the Memorial Day weekend.”

Major Upcoming Exhibitions
East Meets West: The Art of Wei Tai
October 7, 2023-February 18, 2024
Women Artists of the West’s 54th National Exhibition ‘Dreamweavers’
March 2-June 24, 2024
11th Annual Hold Your Horses! Invitational Exhibition & Sale
July 6-September 29, 2024

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

Located in heart of downtown Steamboat Springs, Colorado, the Steamboat Art Museum has become one of the preeminent regional art museums in America. Three distinct exhibitions each year celebrate the work of living masters and historic work relevant to the culture and heritage of the West. This winter 2023, SAM presents Wild West: Wildlife Masters, Past and Present with guest curator Tim Newton, director emeritus of the Salmagundi Club and avid art collector. Bringing together the work of five “Legacy Artists” with the work of living artists who are among the best in painting, drawing and sculpting today, this exhibit is an important gathering of wildlife art and artists.

An outdoor view of the Steamboat Art Museum in Colorado.

Summer 2024, SAM presents Heide Presse’s We Set Our Faces Westward: One Woman’s Journey 1839-1848, a visual account of life on the Oregon Trail in paintings and artifacts. Fall brings the annual SAM Plein Air 2024 and Exhibition, featuring the work of 50 artists from across the country.

Major Upcoming Exhibitions
Wild West: Wildlife Masters, Past and Present
December 1, 2023-April 13, 2024
Heide Presse – We Set Our Faces Westward: One Woman’s Journey 1839-1848
May 24, 2024-August 31, 2024
SAM Plein Air 2024
September 20-27, 2024, Paint Out and Events
September 28-November 2, 2024, Exhibition
Admission & Membership
FREE Admission
Memberships starting at $50

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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, located in the foothills of the Bighorn Mountains, connects people to the past, present and future of the American West through its historic Quarter Circle A Ranch, Fine Art and American Indian Art collections. The Forrest E. Mars Jr. Building opened in 2015 and features artwork from the permanent collection including works by notable masters Frederic Remington, Charles M. Russell, Frank Tenney Johnson and more. The To Honor the Plains Nationsexhibition in the American Indian Gallery displays Amereican Indian art dating from the early 19th century to post-reservation era, focusing on art of the Northern Plains people.

A view of the Brinton Museum’s many Western works on display.

Art exhibitions by accomplished artists of varying genres are offered February through December. Annual events include the Bighorn Rendezvous Exhibit & Quickdraw in August. Award-winning artists participating in the museum’s rendezvous programs have included artists from the region and beyond. The Bighorn Rendezvous is followed by the Artists in Residence show held in September. The Brinton Museum is open to the public from February to December. Docent-guided tours of the exhibit galleries, historic ranch house and outbuildings are available seasonally.

Major Upcoming Exhibitions
Dean States Retrospective
Opens March 2, 2024
Martin Garhart Retrospective: Seen and Said
Opens May 11, 2024
The Brinton 101
November 1-December 22, 2024

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Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West
3830 N. Marshall Way • Scottsdale, AZ 85251
(480) 686-9539 • www.scottsdalemuseumwest.org

Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West in Old Town Scottsdale, Arizona.

Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West is a premier cultural institution situated in Old Town Scottsdale, Arizona. Opened in January 2015, the museum resides on the historic grounds of the Loloma Transit Station (N. Marshall Way and E. 1st Street). With a sprawling two-story layout encompassing 43,000 square feet, the museum showcases the art, culture and rich history spanning 19 states in the American West, Western Canada and Mexico. Former Scottsdale mayor Herb Drinkwater (1936-1997), who served from 1980 to 1996, envisioned the museum, which became a reality through the City of Scottsdale’s ownership and the dedicated operation by the Scottsdale Museum of the West, a non-profit organization established in 2007.

Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West, Opening the Gate, watercolor on paper, 29 x 28”, by William Matthews.

Major Upcoming Exhibitions

Decades: Willy Matthews
October 10, 2023-April 28, 2024
Inner Light: The Art of Tom Gilleon
January 16-August 2024
Carl Roters/Winold Reiss
June 11, 2024-January 2025

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

An exterior view of the Sears Art Museum at Utah Tech University.

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.

Sears Art Museum, Shoshone Dolls, 2012, oil, 30 x 50”, by Jeremy Winborg

This year, the museum celebrates the 37th Annual Robert N. and Peggy Sears Invitational Art Show and Sale. The Gala Opening Reception & Sale will take place on February 16. The exhibition will be open to the public from February 17 through March 31. This is the only fundraiser for the Sears. A percentage of each purchase is donated to the museum and is therefore tax deductible. More information can be found on the website. The show boasts a variety of art including landscape, still lifes, Western scenes and contemporary realism, as well as sculpture, ceramics and photography. Patrons vie to purchase works by Jeremy Winborg, Mike Malm, Julie Rogers, Spike Ress, Roland Lee, Lynn Griffin, George Handrahan, Alexander Selytin, Royden Card, David Kock and many of the other 100-plus artists on display.

Sears Art Museum, Winter on the Provo Near Woodlands, 2023, watercolor, 35 x 55”, by Rick Kinateder.

Major Upcoming Exhibitions

The Abstract Impulse
September 15- November 10, 2023
The Mighty Five: Zion National Park
December 1, 2023- January 12, 2024
Utah Tech University Art Department Showcase
April 19-May 3, 2024
Erin Hanson: Landscapes of the West
June 14-August 23, 2024

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Woolaroc Museum & Wildlife Preserve
1925 Woolaroc Ranch Road • Bartlesville, OK 74003
(918) 336- 0307 • www.woolaroc.org

The Woolaroc Museum in Bartlesville, Oklahoma.

Founded in 1925 by oilman Frank Phillips, Woolaroc is a 3,700-acre working ranch and wildlife preserve that hosts a 50,000 square foot world-class museum with a collection described by Christie’s of New York as “one of the finest collections of southwest art in the world.” The Woolaroc Museum hosts an outstanding collection of Western art and artifacts, Native American material and one of the finest collections of Colt firearms in the world. The collection includes a broad representation of paintings by many of the “Old Masters” of Western art, such as Frederic Remington, Charles M. Russell, William R. Leigh and Frank Tenney Johnson. The museum also represents more contemporary artists like Wilson Hurley, John Clymer, Clark Hulings and Bettina Steinke. The name the Woolaroc is derived from three words—the woods, lakes and rocks that make up the beautiful Osage Hills of northeast Oklahoma where the museum is located.

Woolaroc Museum & Wildlife Preserve, Seasonal Brass, oil, 42 x 44”, by William Alther.

The Woolaroc is hosting the Woolaroc Retrospective Exhibit & Sale this October 14 through December 31, featuring William Alther, Thomas Blackshear II, Tom Browning, Scott Burdick, Glenn Dean, Jane DeDecker, Ralph Oberg, Dan Ostermiller, Roseta Santiago, Mian Situ and Daniel Sprick. In 2024, the museum is hosting the first-ever Women Artists of the West Invitational. This exhibition will run from May 4 to August 4 and features more than 30 of the nation’s best women artists.