Close Encounters: Western Wildlife - National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum

Exhibition Overview

The animals of the American West are as iconic as the landscapes they inhabit. Among boulders, forests, rivers, and lakes, they burrow, forage, soar, hunt, and ultimately, inspire. They inspire conservationists to protect and preserve their habitats. They inspire traffic jams at Yellowstone and other national parks with their rock star celebrity; and they inspire artists as they have for centuries.

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Exhibit Elements

From George Catlin to Alfred Jacob Miller, Charles. M. Russell to Frederic Remington, Western artists and illustrators have prominently featured wildlife in their work. More contemporary artists are no exception and collections from the Museum’s Dickinson Research Center demonstrate this enduring tradition. Sketches and engravings by Tom Lovell, William Reese, and other artists take us across the prairies, over the mountains, and into the West. See raccoons, owls, deer, elk, bison, mountain lions, and more. Stand within inches of a grizzly. No binoculars or bear spray required.