The Western: An Epic in Art and Film

The Western: An Epic in Art and Film is the first major exhibition to examine the Western genre and its evolution from the mid-1800s to the present through fine art, film, and popular culture. Featuring 160 works, the exhibition explores gender roles, race relations, and gun violence—offering a visual journey that is about more than cowboys, bandits, and barroom brawls.

The West is synonymous with the romantic, large-scale paintings of Frederic Remington and Albert Bierstadt. It also materializes in the works of contemporary artists like Ed Ruscha and Kent Monkman, and the films of John Ford and Sergio Leone. By featuring these and other artists, authors, filmmakers, and historic figures together, The Western observes how the mythology of the West spread throughout the world and endures today.

The Western: An Epic in Art and Film is co-organized by the DAM and Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA); co-curated by Thomas Brent Smith, director of the Petrie Institute of Western American Art at the DAM, and Mary Dailey Desmarais, Ph.D., curator of International Modern Art at the MMFA.

The exhibition is accompanied by a 320-page illustrated book with essays and interviews by renowned historians, artists, and directors. It is available in The Shops at the Denver Art Museum and online.

Frederic Remington, *A Dash for the Timber*, 1889. Oil on canvas. Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas, Amon G. Carter Collection.

*Bucking Broadway* (film still), 1917. Directed by John Ford, with Harry Carey, Molly Malone and L.M. Wells. © Collection Centre National du Cinéma et de l’image animée (France).

Albert Bierstadt, *Emigrants Crossing the Plains*, 1867. Oil on canvas; 60 x 96 in. National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.

Roy Lichtenstein, *Cowboy on Bronco*, c. 1953, oil on canvas, 32 x 26 in. The Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio. © Estate of Roy Lichtenstein

Frederic Remington, *The Broncho Buster*, 1895. Bronze. Denver Art Museum: The Roath Collection, 2013.91.

Edward S. Curtis, *The Vanishing Race – Navaho*, 1904. Platinum print. Denver Art Museum: The Daniel Wolf Landscape Photography Collection, 1991.101.

Thomas Eakins, *Cowboy Singing*, about 1892. Oil on canvas. Jointly acquired in honor of Peter H. Hassrick by the Denver Art Museum and the American Museum of Western Art and by exchange with funds from 1999 Collectors' Choice, Sharon Magness, Mr. & Mrs. William D. Hewit, Carl & Lisa Williams, Estelle Rae Wolf-Flowe Foundation and the T. Edward and Tullah Hanley Collection, 2008.491.

N.C. Wyeth, *Gunfight*, about 1916. Oil on canvas. Denver Art Museum: William Sr. and Dorothy Harmsen Collection, 2001.443.

William H.D. Koerner, *"The Tent Law," Don't You Go Frettin', Sallie, I'll Tend To It*, 1922. Oil on canvas; 36 x 28 in. Denver Art Museum: The Roath Collection, 2013.121.

Plan Your Visit

The Western: An Epic in Art and Film will be a special ticketed exhibition.

Group Tickets, Group Tours & Event Rentals

Specially priced tickets for groups of 10 or more are available with advance reservations. Private gallery rentals and special event bookings are also available. Exhibition tours for groups can be scheduled (tours are offered Tuesday-Friday with 3-week advance reservations required).

Please contact group sales at 720-913-0088 or email groupsales@denverartmuseum.org for group tickets and booking details.

Exhibition Touring Schedule

Following its debut in Denver, the exhibition will then travel to the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) from October 9, 2017–January 21, 2018.

For Members

Member tours of The Western were offered Tuesday through Friday at 1 pm (final tour September 8, 2017).

Denver Art Museum members were invited to see the exhibition first at the Member Preview on Friday, May 26. Plus, members save 20% on purchases at The Shops on the Member Preview date.

Join today to enjoy member benefits for future exhibitions.

The Western: An Epic in Art and Film is co-organized by the Denver Art Museum and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. It is presented with generous support from the Terra Foundation for American Art, Jim and Lucy Wallace, Adolph Coors Exhibition Endowment Fund, National Endowment for the Arts, Harmes C. Fishback Foundation Trust, and Robert and Carolyn Barnett. Additional funding is provided by the donors to the Petrie Institute of Western American Art endowment and to the Annual Fund Leadership Campaign, and by the citizens who support the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD). This exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities. Promotional support is provided by 5280 Magazine, CBS4, Comcast Spotlight, and The Denver Post.