Group Tours

Adult Group Visits 2018 – 2019

Featuring 2018 – 2019 Special Exhibitions, Tour Themes, A Date With The Duke (Feast and Film Option), and Advance Booking for Dorothea Lange: Politics of Seeing nationalcowboymuseum.org

Table of Contents Basics of Adult Group Visits

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Docent-Guided Tour Options

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Self-Directed Tour Options

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Looking for Something Different

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Coming Soon 9

Shopping and Eating 10

Important to Know 11

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Adult Group Visits 2018 – 2019 The National Cowboy Western & Heritage Museum is America’s premier institution of Western history, art, and culture. Founded in 1955, the Museum collects, preserves, and exhibits an internationally, renowned collection of Western art and artifacts while sponsoring dynamic educational programs to stimulate interest in the enduring legacy of the American West. More than 10 million visitors from around the world have gained a better understanding of the West — a region and a history that permeates national culture.

The Museum features a superb collection of classic and contemporary Western art, including works by Frederic Remington and Charles M. Russell, as well as sculptor James Earle Fraser’s magnificent work, The End of the Trail. The exhibition wing houses a turn-of-the-century town and interactive history galleries focusing on the American cowboy, rodeos, Native American culture, Victorian firearms, frontier military, and Western performers. Outside, beautifully landscaped gardens flank the Children’s Cowboy Corral, an interactive children’s space. From fine art, pop culture, and firearms to Native American artifacts, historical cowboy gear, shopping, and dining, the Museum tells America’s story as it unfolds across the West.

Browse the variety of options and make your reservations at least three weeks in advance.

How to Schedule Your Visit Booking now! Reservations are required for all group visits and are on a first-come, first-served basis. Admission fees, if applicable, are payable on the day of your visit in one lump sum.

Phone

Call Monday – Friday at (405) 478-2250 ext. 241 at least three weeks in advance of your

desired date and time.

Online nationalcowboymuseum.org/grouptours On-Site

Register in person by speaking with a Visitor Services Assistant in the Museum Lobby.

Monday – Friday, 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

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Docent-led Tour Options

Museum docents are volunteer tour guides who facilitate conversations, share insights, and provide your group with fresh perspectives on the Museum’s collections and exhibitions.

S I G N AT U R E T O U R The Museum’s most requested tour option.

Have a limited amount of time to tour but want to see the “good stuff”? This hour-long tour gleans the surface of the Museum’s many permanent collections. From works by Remington and Russell, to Native American art, see some of the finest Western art in the country. View ethnographic material from Native Americans to mountain men and learn about frontier military life. Complete the tour with a look at the evolution of the working cowboy to their portrayal in film and pop culture. Walk away with a better understanding of the diverse cultures that shaped the West.

THE BISON TOUR

Available February 16 – May 10, 2019.

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Buffalo Hunt. Charles Ferdinand Wimar (German), 1860, pastel.

National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. 1974.31

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Mary Ann, Oklahoma City Zoological Park and Botanical Garden, photo by Andrea Johnson

For thousands of years, millions of bison roamed the plains of North America. By 1890 there were fewer than 300.

Explore the meaning and significance of this iconic creature, from the Plains Indian culture of the 1800s through commercial and national symbol of present. Discover the dramatic changes that occurred to the bison, its habitat, and to the people who depended upon it for their daily existence. The exhibition also illuminates the human response that led to the preservation of a species and a symbol in the 20th century. Conclude the tour by viewing a companion exhibition focusing on the Museum’s renowned collection of art and artifacts depicting the bison and lifestyles of Native Americans.

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GARDEN TOUR Suggested for spring and fall.

The Museum’s trails and gardens feature a plethora of changing plants and flowers native to the American West. This tour offers visitors a chance to connect and learn more about the land in which the story of the West is rooted. Discover the American West’s majesty in the garden and galleries with a focus on the grandeur of the landscape that have inspired generations of artists.

A D AT E W I T H T H E D U K E Available year-round by reservation.

Make a day of it! Combine a tour of the Western Performers Gallery with a BBQ lunch buffet and a private film screening of The Cowboys (1972). This experience is $40 per person with a minimum group size of 35.

In The Cowboys, John Wayne plays the role of Wil Andersen, a veteran rancher who needs hands for his yearly cattle drive, a tough drive running through 400 miles of “the meanest country in the West.” Left with few options, the livestock rancher is forced to consider hiring young boys, ages nine to 17, straight from the town’s school. He puts the boys to a test and, when he witnesses their determination and horse riding skills, he decides to take them on (2h 14 min, rated PG).

OKC’S BEST MUSEUMS TOUR Planning on spending a few days in Oklahoma City and want to see more attractions?

Book your tour to experience the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum AND enjoy lunch and a tour at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum for $32 per person. Package requires a minimum group size of 20.

Book OKC’s Best Museums Tour directly with Tina at (405) 235-3005 or Shannon at (405) 478-2250.

Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum

O K L A H O M A M E M O R I A L D AY W E E K E N D E X P E R I E N C E May 24 – 27, 2019

Four great festivals and attractions. One great weekend.

Visit four of Oklahoma’s top attractions around the state. Begin on Friday, May 24, with a visit to the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum. On Saturday, May 25 visit the Artesian Arts Festival and the Chickasaw Cultural Center in Sulphur, Oklahoma. Next, experience the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum’s award-winning Annual Chuck Wagon Festival on Sunday, May 26. Wrap up the holiday at Remington Park for a Memorial Day celebration and live horse racing.

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Self-Directed Tour Options

Schedule self-directed visits and enjoy the discounted rates for groups. Explore galleries on your own. View these outstanding 2018 – 2019 temporary exhibitions.

I N T H E P R I N C I P L E S O F F I C E : T O M R YA N T H E A R T S T U D E N T Through November 11, 2018 Art is not easy. Even those with natural ability often attend schools and studios to learn the principles. Western artist Tom Ryan (1922 – 2011) invested six years and three schools in his education; but what did he study? What was it like at the Art Students League in 1951? His lecture notes and assignments answer these questions and more.

Step into the classroom with Ryan as he takes “General Illustration” with famed teacher Frank Reilly. Learn the principles of art as he did: the meaning of snow on the shoulders, the difference between hues and values, the importance of anatomy, and the draftsmanship precision of perspective.

Men, Light and Shade Assignment. Tom Ryan, 1952. Tom Ryan Collection. Dickinson Research Center.

National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. 2002.03.6.

AMERICAN INDIAN ARTISTS: 20TH CENTURY MASTERS Opening September 1, 2018

Crow Couple. Kevin Red Star (Crow), no date, lithograph. The Arthur and Shifra Silberman Collection, National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. 1996.27.0793.

Western Front #7. Frank Big Bear, Jr. (Anishinabe), 1993, colored pencil/acrylic. The Arthur and Shifra Silberman Collection, National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. 1996.27.0223.

As Lakota artist Oscar Howe wrote in 1958, “There is much more to Indian Art than pretty, stylized pictures.”

This exhibition highlights this depth and the 20th-century American masters who shaped it. Explore early artists such as the Kiowa Six, Tonita Peña, Harrison Begay, and the institutions that influenced them — particularly the University of Oklahoma and the Santa Fe Indian School. See how their art, and that of many others, was not limited to a specific medium or a standard scene, but reflected individual creativity and stylistic diversity.

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Waiting on the Outside Circle, Tyler Crow, Oil, 24" x 40"

COWBOY CROSSINGS® OPENING WEEKEND October 4 – 6, 2018 Galleries open to the public October 6.

California Style Buckaroo Spurs, Ernie Marsh

The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum hosts the Opening Weekend event and sale for two outstanding exhibitions. The Traditional Cowboy Arts Association (TCAA) showcases the best of saddle making, bit and spur making, silversmithing, and rawhide braiding; while the Cowboy Artists of America (CAA) features fine art from members who celebrate the West through painting, drawing, and sculpture. The CAA exhibition is on view through November 25, 2018, and the TCAA exhibition is on view through January 6, 2019.

Reservations for Opening Weekend activities are required; visit nationalcowboymuseum.org/cowboy-crossings-reservations.

S M A L L W O R K S , G R E AT W O N D E R S A R T S A L E ® November 3 – November 25, 2018 Small Works, Great Wonders® features a fusion of traditional and contemporary paintings and sculptures at affordable prices. Enjoy cocktails with more than 100 of the nation’s finest artists, including many from the prestigious Prix de West. Door prizes, cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, and live music paired with beautiful works of art make for a truly special evening. During this unique sales event on November 9, purchasers may leave with art in hand at the end of the night. Unsold art remains on display and available for purchase through November 25, 2018. Reservations for November 9 Art Sale are required; visit nationalcowboymuseum.org/smallworks.

Keeping Close, Edward Aldrich, Oil, 14” x 18”

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THE BISON EXHIBIT February 8 – May 12, 2019 Ancient. Massive. Wild. Few animals conjure the power and symbolic presence of the North American bison.

Whether painted on a tipi or an artist’s canvas, minted on a nickel, or seen grazing in Yellowstone National Park, the image of the bison stirs in us deep loyalties to the North American landscape. Wild and fundamental, the bison is a familiar part of our shared heritage. This exhibition explores the meaning and significance of this iconic creature from the Plains Indian culture of the 1800s through the commercial and national symbol of the present.

The Bison Exhibit charts the dramatic changes that occurred to the creature and its habitat and to the people who depended upon it for their daily existence. The exhibition also illuminates the human response that eventually led to the bison’s preservation as a species and a symbol in the 20th century.

This exhibition is organized and circulated by the National Buffalo Foundation with appreciation to the Kaufmann Museum, Newton, Kansas.

Its presentation at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum is enhanced with a companion exhibition.

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THE 47TH ANNUAL PRIX DE WEST I N V I TAT I O N A L A R T E X H I B I T I O N & S A L E ® June 7 – August 4, 2019 The Museum hosts its annual exhibition of more than 300 paintings and sculpture by the finest contemporary Western artists in the nation. This premier art exhibition features works ranging from historical pieces that reflect the early days of the West, to more contemporary and impressionistic works of art. Landscapes, wildlife art, and illustrative scenes are always highlighted in the exhibition. Reservations for Opening Weekend activities are required; visit nationalcowboymuseum.org.

Looking for Something Different?

Call us and we will work together to develop a special program that meets your needs.

Coming Soon!

W A R H O L’ S W E S T February – May 2020 DOROTHEA LANGE: POLITICS OF SEEING February 14 – May 10, 2020

Migrant Mother. Nipomo, California. 1936. Courtesy of the Collection of the Oakland Museum of California. © The Dorothea Lange Collection, the Oakland Museum of California. Gift of Paul S. Taylor.

Man Beside Wheelbarrow. 1934. Courtesy of the Collection of the Oakland Museum of California. © The Dorothea Lange Collection, the Oakland Museum of California. Gift of Paul S. Taylor.

Through the lens of her camera, Dorothea Lange documented American life with riveting, intimate photographs that portrayed some of the most powerful moments of the 20th century. Drawing upon vintage prints, unedited proof sheets, personal memorabilia, and historic objects, this exhibition takes a unique approach to a beloved American photographer by reuniting photographs with comments and quotes by the people she photographed.

Dorothea Lange: Politics of Seeing is supported in part by the Oakland Museum Women’s Board, the Henry Luce Foundation, the Susie Tompkins Buell Fund, Ann Hatch and Paul Discoe, the Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation, and Peter Rossi/Stifel, Nicolaus & Co. 9

The Museum Grill

With advance notice, The Museum Grill can prepare lunch (assorted sandwich trays with reserved seating) for your group. Add afternoon tea or BBQ for an additional cost per person. To make arrangements, call the Museum’s Visitor Services Manager at (405) 478-2250 ext. 241.

The Museum Grill is open Monday – Saturday, 11:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m., and closed on Sunday.

The Museum Store

Shop truly unique pottery, jewelry, accessories, and souvenirs at The Museum Store! We offer a wide array of merchandise that includes nearly 6,000 different items, Including apparel, books, gifts, and original works of art.

Shop online at store.nationalcowboymuseum.org.

Photography

Allowed in designated areas. No monopods, bipods, tripods or selfie sticks. Look for camera images, selfie stations, and signage during your visit. Share Your Experience!

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Wheelchairs & Strollers

The Museum is accessible to individuals with limited mobility. Free manual wheelchair and stroller loans are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Pets

Trained guide and service animals are permitted in the Museum and on Museum grounds.

Museum Hours

Monday – Saturday, 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Sunday, Noon – 5:00 p.m.

Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day

How to Schedule Your Visit

Book now! Reservations are required for group rates and are on a first-come, first-served basis. Admission fees, if applicable, are payable on the day of your visit. Call the Visitor Services Manager at (405) 478-2250 ext. 241 or email sstrain@nationalcowboymuseum.org at least three weeks in advance of your desired date and time.

Group Size

A minimum of 15 paying adults is required for group rates. An escort and driver receive complimentary admission.

Group Admission Rates Taxable rates are as follows:

Adults – $10.75

Seniors 62 and older – $9.25 Tax exempt prices are available upon request. Payment must be made in one lump sum for everyone in your tour group. Cash, check, credit card, or purchase order accepted. Coupons cannot be used with the group rate.

Canceling a Visit

If you must cancel a tour, please contact or leave a voicemail with the Visitor Services Manager at sstrain@nationalcowboymuseum.org or (405) 478-2250 ext. 241 at least 24 hours prior to visit.

Parking

Parking is free.

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Adult Group Visits 2018 – 2019

1700 Northeast 63rd Street • Oklahoma City, OK 73111 (405) 478-2250 nationalcowboymuseum.org

Museum Partners

Major Support The Oklahoman Media Company The True Foundation

Community Partners