National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum displays artworks and exhibits that celebrate the history of the American West. The museum is in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It opened in 1965.
The museum has paintings and sculptures by such popular Western artists as Albert Bierstadt, Thomas Moran, Frederic Remington, and Charles Marion Russell. The museum’s collection also includes the famous sculpture The End of the Trail by James Earle Fraser.
The museum organizes its collection in several galleries. The Arthur and Shifra Silberman Gallery of Native American Art features rotating exhibitions from a major collection of works exploring American Indian art, history, and culture. Other galleries include the American Cowboy Gallery, the American Rodeo Gallery, the Joe Grandee Museum of the Frontier West Gallery, and the Western Performers Gallery. Many exhibits are interactive—that is, they offer a range of different responses depending on input from the visitor. Prosperity Junction is a re-creation of a frontier town from about 1900, with authentic buildings and objects from the period.
In a separate building, the Children’s Cowboy Corral encourages youngsters to participate in hands-on activities that explore Western history. The children’s corral surrounds an artificial rock canyon.
The Sam Noble Special Events Center features five giant mural paintings by the American artist Wilson Hurley. The paintings are known as the Windows of the West. The museum holds many public events in the center and on its grounds, including an annual Chuck Wagon Gathering and Children’s Cowboy Festival during the Memorial Day weekend.
The museum is the site of the Rodeo Hall of Fame, the Hall of Great Westerners, and the Hall of Great Western Performers. The Rodeo Historical Society selects members of the Rodeo Hall of Fame. The museum’s board of directors selects inductees to the halls of Great Westerners and Great Western Performers.
The museum’s educational facilities include classrooms and an auditorium. A research center provides resources for scholars and people interested in the West.
