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The Museum of Western Art is located in Kerrville, Texas, only a
short drive from San Antonio. It sits on prime real estate in the
heart of the famed Texas Hill Country. This outstanding facility
provides the opportunity for one-and-all to relive Western heritage
through great Western art.
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The Museum of Western Art opened on April 23, 1983, and was first
known as the Cowboy Artists of America Museum. In the years since,
thousands of visitors have walked the Museum galleries and have seen
the West brought to life through the artwork on display. The
hardworking cowboys, the Native Americans, women of the West,
settlers, mountain men and others are featured through various
themed exhibits. Through other displays, the history of famous
ranches as well as other diverse aspects of our Western heritage,
are shared with an ever-widening audience. In addition, area
educators, students, writers, as well as the public make frequent
use of the Museum's 3,000 volume Western art and history research
library.
The Museum is an architectural work of art in its own right. Its
unique design was initiated by distinguished Texas architect O'Neil
Ford, renowned for establishing the guiding principles of
Southwestern style architecture.
Featuring heavy timbers and rugged retaining walls of stacked
limestone, the building's exterior resembles a fortressed hacienda.
Heroic and life-size bronzes dot the landscape of the outer grounds.
Inside the 14,000 square foot facility, 23 bovedas in the ceiling
give visitors a glimpse of artisan work rarely seen today. Floors of
end-cut mesquite wood and Saltillo tile are polished to a warm glow,
complementing the Western artwork displayed in the galleries. In
2004, the Masel S. Quinn Pavilion of the Western Art Academy was
completed and made ready for use in the Museum's art education
program.
In preserving and promoting the heritage of the American West, the
Museum is committed to exhibiting the very finest artwork including
art created by today's best known Western artists. Periodic exhibits
feature famous masters of the past. The Museum's goal is to
represent authentically the life of the West, in both its historic
and contemporary context. This rich cultural heritage is also shared
through the display of artifacts from the era, and ongoing Western
art and history education programs.
Finally, in all that it does, the Museum serves as a bridge between
the past and the present, insuring that the legacy of the American
West will be preserved for the future. We invite our guests to be
part of that mission. Experience the West as it was and as it is at
the Museum of Western Art ... Where the Legend Lives! |
