National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum

The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum is a museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, with over 28,000 Western and American Indian artifacts. The museum also houses the most extensive collection of American rodeo photographs, barbed wire, saddlery, and early rodeo trophies in the world. The collections of museums are dedicated to preserving and interpreting the heritage of the American West. During the annual Prix de West Invitational Art Exhibition and Sale in June, the museum transforms into an art gallery. The Prix de West Artists raise funds for the museum by selling original works of art. Curtis W. Fen tress, FAIA, RIBA of Fen tress Architects designed the expansion and renovation.

History

Bulldogging photograph of "Cowboy Morgan Evans," World Champion in 1927.

The Cowboy Hall of Fame and Museum was founded in 1955 on an idea proposed by Chester A. Reynolds to honor the cowboy and his era. The name was changed to the National Cowboy Hall of Fame and Museum later that year. The National Cowboy Hall of Fame and Western Heritage Center was renamed in 1960. The museum received full accreditation from the American Alliance of Museums in 2000, when it adopted its current name.The museum bestows the Chester A. Reynolds Memorial Award to honor the founder's memory. This award is given to a person or organisation that contributes to the preservation of the American West.

Exhibits

The museum has over 200,000 square feet (19,000 m2) of display space. The "William S. and Ann Atherton Art of the American West Gallery" at the museum houses over 2,000 works of western art. Landscapes, portraits, colorful still lifes, and sculptures by 19th and 20th-century artists fill the 15,000 sq ft (1,400 m2) exhibit space. Its prize collection of contemporary Western art created over the last 30 years by award-winning Prix de West artists includes over 200 works by Charles Marion Russell, Frederic Remington, Albert Bierstadt, Solon Borglum, Thurmond Restuettenhall, Robert Lougheed, Charles Schreyvogel, and other early artists. The first winner was Clark Hulings' "Grand Canyon - Kaibob Trail," a large oil about a mule team barely crossing the Grand Canyon.

Opening Hours

Saturday 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Sunday 12–5PM

Monday 10AM–5PM

Tuesday 10AM–5PM

Wednesday 10AM–5PM

Thursday 10AM–5PM

Friday 10AM–5PM

Statement of Purpose

The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum preserves and interprets the American West's evolving history and cultures for the education and enrichment of its diverse adult and child audiences.