The Cowboy Museum's three new temporary exhibitions offer diverse and dynamic viewpoints of the West
Three new temporary exhibitions open in October at the National Cowboy Museum, offering an exciting new look at the West.
From the mythic Western landscapes and wildlife scenes of Prix de West Purchase Award-winning artist Tucker Smith, and a collection of wildlife sculpture by a who’s who of Western artists including James Earle Fraser, Charles M. Russell, Joe De Yong and Gerald Balciar, to the candid, black & white photographs of small Western communities by French photographer Anouk Masson Krantz, these new exhibitions provide a diverse range of art from dynamic lineup of artists.
“Just as the true story of the American West is a collection of experiences by individuals from varied cultures, backgrounds and beliefs, The Cowboy offers exhibitions from a wide swath of artists who offer unique perspectives on the concept of the West,” said National Cowboy Museum President & CEO Natalie Shirley. “We’re excited to feature an array of artists, mediums and voices in these new exhibitions.”
Tucker Smith: A Celebration of Nature, open now through January 3, 2021, is a truly retrospective exhibition, featuring works ranging from Smith’s early years as a professional artist to his most recent paintings. Presenting the breadth of subject matter Smith has tackled — with an emphasis on Western wildlife — this exhibition also includes camp and cowboy scenes, straight landscapes, a few foreign locales and at least one railroad painting.
Wild Wooly Western Wildlife, in 3D!, a companion exhibition to Tucker Smith: A Celebration of Nature that is also open now through January 3, 2021, features a selection of sculpture depicting bison, pronghorn, moose, mountain lions, bears and other critters, in bronze, wood and plaster from the 19th and 20th centuries. Drawing from the largest and most comprehensive sculpture collection of the American West, the works in this exhibition are all from The Cowboy’s own permanent collection.
West: The American Cowboy, available for view October 17 – December 13, 2020, is a traveling exhibition of works by French photographer Anouk Masson Krantz making its debut at The Cowboy in conjunction with a book of the same title. While the ranching and small rodeo communities in the heartland of the great American West that Krantz photographs were initially unfamiliar to her, she has returned time and time again to revisit the enduring iconic symbol of America’s pioneering spirit with a fresh, inspiring and contemporary view from an outsider’s perspective.
The National Cowboy Museum is open seven days a week. A mask or other face-covering is required to enter the Museum, and social distancing requirements are in place for visitor safety.