Booth Western Art Museum
By SHERRI SMITH BROWN
Georgia > Northwest Georgia Mountains > Bartow County > Cartersville
The Booth Western Art Museum exhibits one of the most important collections of contemporary Western art in the country, including this painting, “Crazy Mountain Saddle Slickers” by Carrie Fell.
Basically, this is a museum of Western art, but it is also a wonderful place to learn about the West — its people, both Native Americans and cowboys, their culture, and their way of life. In fact, their slogan is “Explore the West without Leaving the South.”
The only museum of its kind in the Southeast and the second largest art museum in Georgia, galleries of Booth Western Art Museum feature primarily Western artists of the 20th and 21st centuries. More than 200 Western artists display work here. Permanent collections include the American West Gallery, the Mythic West Gallery, the Reel West Gallery, and the Cowboy Gallery. Now through October 25 is “Lasting Light: 125 Years of Grand Canyon Photography” and “Painting the Canyon: Works from Grand Canyon Collections” in the Special Exhibition Gallery and through November 8 is “Route 66 Meets Highway 41: Roadside Impressions by Chuck Middlekauff” in the Theatre Lobby Gallery.
It’s easy to get your child actively involved with the museum’s art by picking up a Saddlebag upon your arrival that is filled with family activities that you can do during your visit. You will also want to spend time in SageBrush Range, a hands-on play area, where they can touch and interact with exhibits. Children can climb in a ¾-scale stagecoach; recreate Native American beadwork; learn about people who explored and settled the West; listen to cowboy songs, poetry and jokes; weave on a real loom; watch vintage Western television programs; or learn to draw a horse or buffalo. They can even experience being a Chuck Wagon cook at a replica of a chuck wagon.On the second Saturday of each month, the museum holds Children’s Saturday – an educational program for ages 4 to 12. Programs relate to the museum’s exhibits and focus on teaching kids about the American West through art, literature, entertainment and hands-on activities.
A must time to visit is during one of Booth Western Art Museum’s big annual events: The Annual Southeastern Cowboy Gathering in March and the Annual Southeastern Cowboy Festival and Symposium, running this week, October 22 - 25.
Read more about Native American History, Cartersville and Bartow County, and find other activities in the Northwest Georgia Mountains Travel Region here at Brown’s Guide.
Tags: art gallery, Cartersville, cowboys, Native Americans, Western art