The Western: An Epic in Art and Film

Denver Art Museum

May. 27, 2024 - Sep. 10, 2017

100 W 14th Ave Pkwy
Denver, 80204
Phone (720) 865-5000

denverartmuseum.org/exhibitions/western-epic-art-and-film

Explore the artistic and cinematic evolution of the Wild West at the Denver Art Museum (DAM) exhibition, The Western: An Epic in Art and Film. Featuring 160 works, the exhibition explores the gender roles, race relations and gun violence of the Western genre presented through fine art, film and popular culture from the mid-1800s to the present.

The visual journey goes beyond the battles between cowboys and American Indians, pursuits and duels, and bandits and barroom brawls. From Frederic Remington’s large-scale paintings to John Ford films, The Western allows visitors to observe how the mythology of the West materialized, spread globally and endures today.
The Western: An Epic in Art and Film is co-organized by the DAM and Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA); co-curated by Thomas Brent Smith, director of the Petrie Institute of Western American Art at the DAM, and Mary Dailey Desmarais, Ph.D., curator of International Modern Art at the MMFA.

The exhibition will be accompanied by a 320-page illustrated book with essays and interviews by renowned historians, artists, and directors. The book will be available in The Shops at the Denver Art Museum and online.

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