When the Legacy, a new headquarters and event space for the National Western Stock Show, opened for the Coors Western Art Exhibit & Sale in January, it drew attention to both Coors and the stock show. But Legacy had quietly opened for its inaugural event a month earlier with Along the Trail, an exhibition that draws from two important museum collections and several private lenders.
Oscar E. Berninghaus (1874-1952), Inspection of Arms, oil on canvas, 30 x 36 in. The Koshare Museum La Junta, Colorado.
“When Legacy opened, we knew we had this great opportunity with the gallery that now houses Along the Trail. The exhibition highlights extraordinary private collections from Denver, but also two museums that are very special to me, the Koshare Museum in La Junta, Colorado, and the A.R. Mitchell Museum in Trinidad, Colorado,” Coors curator Kate Hlavin says. “To be able to tell the stories of these smaller, beautiful museums is important to us.”
Arthur Roy Mitchell (1889-1977), Girl of the Rodeo, oil on canvas, 27 x 25 in. The A.R. Mitchell Museum of Western Art Trinidad, Colorado.
The exhibition, which will include about 40 works, features historic works by Colorado artists or from Colorado institutions. The pieces date from the mid-1800s through the 1970s. Artists represented in the exhibition include Edgar Payne, Oscar E. Berninghaus, Emil Bisttram and prominent pulp cover artist A.R. Mitchell, whose legacy is preserved in the A.R. Mitchell Museum.
Edgar Payne (1883-1947), Going to Sing, oil on canvas, 42 x 42 in. The Koshare Museum La Junta, Colorado
“The A.R. Mitchell Museum loaned 10 pieces to the exhibit. Nine are Mitchell original illustrations, that tell the story of Mitchell’s career as an illustrator. His illustrations were not the Hollywood version of the West but the life that he knew as a kid growing up along the Santa Fe Trail,” says Allyson Sheumaker, the executive director at the museum. “All the characters in his illustrations were real people, real cowboys, friends…It is important that Mitchell be represented in this exhibit because he was a prolific Western artist; however, since he did not like to sell his work, many people are not familiar with him. Being a part of the Along the Trail exhibit shines a light on Mitchell and his significant contribution to Western art.”
Arthur Roy Mitchell (1889-1977), Gold Panner, oil on canvas, 25 x 29½ in. The A.R. Mitchell Museum of Western Art Trinidad, Colorado.
Jeremy Manyik, director at Koshare Museum, is loaning a dozen pieces to the exhibition from his museum. “I think this loan helps tell a story about the quality of Western art found in off-the-beaten-path collections across the state. The exhibition brings attention to museums and collections that may be lesser known...” he says.
The exhibition runs through April 18. —
Along the Trail
Through April 18, 2026
The Legacy
4800 Packing House Road, Denver, CO 80216
(303) 291-2567, nationalwestern.com/legacy/the-wilson-art-gallery
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