Sometimes when Darrell Beauchamp, executive director of the Museum of Western Art, passes a piece of artwork, it gives him an unexpected emotional jolt.
“We’ve got a piece of art that’s four cows, staring at you. I walk by it and it makes me chuckle,” he said.
But the legend of the American West includes a lot more than cows. “It’s about new adventures, a new way of life. It’s not just cowboys in a stream. It’s adventure, beautiful landscapes, wildlife,” Beauchamp said.
The Museum of Western Art began in 1983 as the home for the Cowboy Artists of America (CAA). In 2003 the decision was made to expand the mission to include other artists’ work that reflects the West.
“Expanding was a positive move for everybody,” Beauchamp said. “Several Western artists in America are not native to America. Now we’re also able to include women, people of color.”
February 6-March 20 will feature an all-women show, “America the Beautiful: Women Artists of the West.” The fine art nonprofit’s 51st annual juried show will include 129 works by women. “It’s the West, just a different look at it,” Beauchamp said.
The connection with the CAA remains strong through the museum’s artist in residence, sculptor Jason Scull. He’s on site most days, ready for a visit with museum visitors. “He’s a great guy. Very fun and informative,” Beauchamp said. “He’s always got stuff in clay and waxes and molds to show.”
Located on 10 acres atop a hill in the heart of Kerrville, the 14,000-square-foot museum overlooks the Guadalupe River valley. Life-size bronzes on the grounds give visitors a glimpse of the enduring romance of all things Western.
During the pandemic some of the museum’s popular reoccurring events had to take a break, but they are slowly returning (details are always available online). Weddings, quinceañeras and other private events are still being held in the 7,000-square-foot outdoor pavilion. And a new virtual tour is also available.
“There was a man in his 90s from New York City who said he’d love to see the museum but can’t make it right now. He’s so happy we put that virtual tour up because he finally got to see it,” Beauchamp said.
The museum’s permanent collection is extensive. Beauchamp says they rotate pieces every 60-90 days, to keep it fresh. “One of the big jokes in the museum world is the second you take down a popular work is when someone says they want to see it.
They walked in four or five years ago and really loved it and now they’ve come all the way down from Oregon and we took it down yesterday,” Beauchamp said. But he says to let the staff know if you have your heart set on seeing a particular piece.
“I’ll meet you at 2 a.m. if I know you’re coming,” he said.
The museum’s Griff Carnes Research Center is a noncirculating library with 6,000 items.
“Even the biggest university libraries don’t have a section on the American West that’s as large as ours,” Beauchamp said. “There’s a photo of Larry McMurtry doing research here while he was writing ‘Lonesome Dove.’”
Even though some plans have had to be adjusted in recent months, Beauchamp says it’s reminded him of why art matters: because it feeds the soul.
“We need basics — housing and food and those things — but we also need to take care of our heart, our soul, and art does that. It allows us to dream and look at potential and possibility. It makes you think or be emotional,” he said.
Museum of Western Art
1550 Bandera Highway
Kerrville
Open Tuesday through Saturday from 10
a.m. to 4 p.m.
Museum members, active and retired
military, first responders and children
under 8 are free; children 9-17 and college
students with ID are $5; and adults and
seniors are $7.
www.museumofwesternart.com