Considered by many to be home of the finest Southwestern Art collection between Forth Worth and Santa Fe, Panhandle Plains Historical Museum’s Southwestern Gallery is open again for the first time since Fall 2023.
A place of sublime beauty and grandeur, the American Southwest has been home to indigenous peoples for centuries and has inspired artists since the late 1800s. The exhibition will begin with the Taos Society of Artists, who blended traditional European academic training with the stories and spirit of what they considered to be the true American Southwest. The rest of the exhibition is organized into thematic sections exploring the play of light on the contours of the unique geography, images of the diverse people of the region, and the rituals and celebrations of everyday life.
The newly re-installed gallery will also feature Peonies, a painting by Kay WalkingStick on loan from the Art Bridges Foundation. A member of the Cherokee Nation, WalkingStick is a contemporary artist whose work addresses issues of Native history and feminism. A declaration of female autonomy and a counterpoint to European painting traditions, WalkingStick’s work is simultaneously joyful and complex.
“My wish has been to express our Native and non-Native shared identity. I want all people to hold to their cultures, but I also want to encourage a mutual recognition of shared beauty.” -Kay WalkingStick