Museum of Western Art (Kerrville, Texas)

The Museum of Western Art in Kerrville, Texas, is a museum dedicated to the painting and sculpture of living artists of the American West who follow in the tradition of Frederic Remington and Charles M. Russell. In addition to the rotating collection, the museum also has an art library and teaching facilities.

The museum opened on April 23, 1983, as the Cowboy Artists of America Museum, intended to serve as the headquarters of the Cowboy Artists of America.

However, a subsequent dispute led to the dissolution of formal ties between the museum and the association, and the museum changed its name to the National Center for American Western Art and then to the Museum of Western Art in 2003. Disputes arose concerning the future of the museum as well as a proposed new museum to be established in San Antonio. The parties subsequently reached a settlement of their dispute.

The museum building was designed by the late O'Neil Ford, a pioneer in the Southwestern style of architecture. The exterior of the museum resembles a fortressed hacienda. Outside are life-sized bronzes. Inside the collection is spread throughout the available 14,000 square feet (1,300 m²). The floors are of mesquite and Saltillo tile and are polished to accent the artwork. In 2004, the Masel S. Quinn Pavilion of the Western Art Academy was completed for use in the education program.

The art focuses on cowboys, Native Americans, pioneer settlers, women in the West, law-enforcement officers, ranchers, and mountain men. Much of the art was influenced by W. Herbert Dunton, Bert Geer Phillips (1868–1956), and Oscar E. Berninghaus of the Taos art colony in Taos, New Mexico.

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