Western Spirit: Scottsdale's Museum of the West

Join us in celebrating Smithsonian Magazine’s Museum Day at Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West! This Museum Day, Western Spirit invites guests to see the West from a whole new perspective at our Smithsonian Affiliate destination, which connects visitors of all ages to the Western lifestyle — past, present and future.

Stories have the power to inspire, change history and celebrate cultures. Western Spirit brings authentic stories to life through Western and Native American art, artifacts and living cultures. Guests will experience iconic Western art, including contemporary artists’ work; pristine Navajo chiefs’ blankets; a collection of 1,400 examples of Old West cowboy gear; lots of fun social media-worthy photo opportunities, like our Western Spirit Trail 3D illusion mural that literally places you in the Old West; as well as a retrospective exhibition featuring the art of Paul Calle including his Western and NASA space art.

Visit free* by downloading National Museum Day tickets at Smithsonian.com/museumday. Downloads available until Sept. 16th, 2022, through noon Phoenix time. After downloading a free Smithsonian Museum Day ticket, please go to our online ticketing site at https://my.scottsdalemuseumwest.org/events to reserve a *Free Smithsonian Museum Day timed admission ticket.

Free general museum admission will be provided to those with official Museum Day tickets. Tickets must be reserved in advance and earmarked for a specific institution. Ticket downloads are available until Sept. 16, 12pm Phoenix time.

Your Museum Day ticket provides free general admission for one ticket holder plus one guest to a single museum only on Sept. 17th, 2021. The ticket is only valid on Museum Day, Saturday, Sept. 17, 2021. Please present your ticket (either printed or on your mobile device) upon check-in at the Visitor Services desk on Sept. 17.

Once you have your Museum Day ticket, visit our website to secure your entry time (as we have a timed entry system to maintain social distancing protocols.)

https://my.scottsdalemuseumwest.org/events

Looking forward to welcoming you!

Exhibits

Guests will experience Western Spirit’s permanent and rotating exhibitions. On Sept. 17, guests can see:

Featured Exhibit:

Light and Legacy: The Art and Techniques of Edward S. Curtis will be featured in the Halle Foundation Great Hall and the Pulliam Fine Arts Gallery of Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West. This monumental exhibition is made possible with generous sponsorship from The Peterson Family; The Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust: Charles F., Jennifer E., and John U. Sands; Theodore “Ted” Stephan; Scottsdale Art Auction; True West Magazine: Ken Amorosano & Bob Boze Bell; and the City of Scottsdale and its Tourism Development Commission.

In the late 1890s, Edward S. Curtis (1868-1952) saw a way to use his talent as a photographer to help Indigenous Peoples preserve and maintain their cultures and traditions. Curtis’s endeavor was encouraged by ethnographic and environmental luminaries like George Bird Grinnell and Gifford Pinchot,and enjoyed the public blessing of President Theodore Roosevelt. In 1907, he would secure financial backing from financier J. Pierpont Morgan. For three decades, Curtis traveled the length and breadth of the American West, Western Canada, and Alaska, taking thousands of photographs of Native Americans. Postcards, illustrated magazine articles, books for young readers, lecture series, a “musicale,” and the very first feature-length film with an all-Indigenous cast, In the Land of the Head-Hunters (1914), would spring from his tireless creative mind.

This is currently the largest exhibit of its kind open to the public.

Rotating Exhibition - until November 27, 2022:

Paul Calle’s Life of Exploration: From the Mountains to the Moon marks the 50th anniversary of Neil Armstrong’s first step on the moon and honors NASA and Western Artist, Paul Calle.
This retrospective exhibition traces the career of artist Paul Calle (1928-2010), who was best known for painting and drawing the historic American West featuring mountain men, fur traders and Native Americans, as well as NASA artwork and postage stamp designs including the iconic 1969 First Man on the Moon artwork and stamp. On that day, July 16, 1969, Paul Calle, an official artist of NASA, was the only artist present during the pre-launch activities of the Apollo 11 mission to the moon, sketching various scenes including breakfast, suiting up and the walk-out to the space craft.

The exhibition will also showcase artworks that Calle completed while working as an illustrator and graphic artist for sports, medicine and children’s magazines, as well as his paintings and sketches of many famous people including President John F. Kennedy, Robert Frost and Helen Keller/Anne Sullivan, among others.

On-going and Permanent Exhibitions:

Canvas of Clay: Hopi Pottery Masterworks from The Allan and Judith Cooke Collection
On exhibit for the first time, more than 65 of the finest examples of Hopi pottery from The Allan and Judith Cooke Collection. A gift to the museum, this exhibition celebrates six centuries of the Hopi people and culture, whose tribal land lies in northern Arizona.

An interactive kiosk video showcases how Hopi pottery is created, with a special segment on the Cookes and what inspired them to amass such a world-class collection. Among the historic and contemporary masterworks are 18 ceramics by Nampeyo of Hano, the most famous of the Hopi potters, as well as works by 22 additional master potters including Nampeyo’s daughters and other descendants.

The exhibition is sponsored by the City of Scottsdale and is a national treasure and point of pride for Scottsdale and all of Arizona.

The Abe Hays Family Spirit of the West Collection
Revolvers, rifles, saddles, knives, holsters, spurs, chaps, badges and more. See a collection of 1,400 Old West items from Scottsdale gallerist Abe Hays. While every artifact on display captures a part of our history, many are exceedingly rare.

The exhibition themes include Working Cowboys; Wild West Shows; Western Gear Made in Prisons; Rodeos and Fairs; Western Movies and Parades; Outlaws and Lawmen; Western Saloons; and Illustrations.

Collecting Stories: John Coleman Bronzes from the Collection of Frankie and Howard Alper

After more than thirty years of patronage and friendship with acclaimed Western artist John Coleman, Frankie and Howard Alper have accumulated an extraordinary collection of artwork. Collecting Stories features a selection of bronzes from the Alper Family’s collection, including the 10-piece Explorer Artist Series, inspired by the 19th century paintings of George Catlin and Karl Bodmer.

Courage and Crossroads: A Visual Journey through the Early American West
The story of America’s West in the 19th and early 20th centuries comes to life through more than 100 paintings and sculptures by artists ranging from Thomas Moran and Alfred Jacob Miller to Frederic Remington and Charles M. Russell. The exhibit also includes vintage photographs by Edward S. Curtis, historic Native American artwork, artifacts associated with Kit Carson, and the presentation style pipe tomahawk of Captain Meriwether Lewis of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. On loan from the Peterson Family Collection.

Participation in Museum Day is open to any tax-exempt or governmental museum or cultural venue on a voluntary basis. Smithsonian magazine encourages museum visitation, but is not responsible for and does not endorse the content of the participating museums and cultural venues, and does not subsidize museums that participate.