Bob Rockwell's Favorites

Bob Rockwell Picks His Personal Favorites for Rockwell Museum Exhibit

September 12, 2003

Bob Rockwell amassed one of the world's largest collections of Western American art and then donated several hundred paintings, drawings and sculptures to the Corning, New York museum that bears his name. For a new two-part exhibition at the Rockwell Museum of Western Art, the collector himself has selected some of his personal favorites from the museum's huge permanent collection. Part One of "A Collector's Perspective" will open to the public on September 17 and run through December 31. Part Two will run from January 12 through March 31, 2004. Each part of the exhibit will include approximately 40 works in two galleries. A members-only reception will open the show on September 16. On October 15, the museum will host a Gallery Talk Interview with Bob Rockwell for museum members and the general public. Reservations are required, since space is limited.

"Bob Rockwell is the true focus for this exhibition," says Executive Director Kristin Swain. "We built it around a pair of questions: First, what works of art does Bob Rockwell like the very best out of all the Western art he collected? Second, what are some of the differences between the choices an individual collector makes versus those a museum makes? Trying to answer this pair of questions has given us a unique opportunity to peek inside the mind of a truly extraordinary art collector. We think the result is a fascinating exhibition that our visitors will find both enjoyable and enriching."

Like most individual art collectors, Bob Rockwell bought what he liked. "What he liked" also happens to be works that are widely acknowledged to be among the finest in the world of Western art. This show reflects his passion for realistic art, primarily from the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries, that tells a story. Some stories portray a grand, romantic view of American history and geography, with landscapes, people, and animals that often seem larger than life. Others create colorful fictions from factual material. As Bob says, "No country has had a more interesting history than the American West from the early 1800s to the early 1900s. Western art is this history, painted on canvas and cast in bronze. I collected art that shows all this greatness - explorers, cowboys, Indians, cavalry, animals, rivers, mountains. I like it because it makes you feel like you're right there when you look at it!"

Choosing the pieces for this pair of shows has been among the most difficult tasks Bob Rockwell has undertaken in quite some time. The problem: although the museum has set aside two of its twelve galleries for "A Collector's Perspective," these have space for a total of 40 works of art. Thus, for the two-part exhibition, Bob has had to choose a total of just 80 works from the museum's huge collection, several hundred of which he personally collected.

Every piece has its own story. Sometimes the story resides solely in the subject of the painting or sculpture. Sometimes it comes from the story it illustrated, quite literally, for authors whose works were serialized in the Saturday Evening Post, Collier's, Boys' Life, and other magazines. And sometimes the story is in the acquisition - the quest for a work, the negotiation, the win.

In all cases, the visitor is the winner. The list of works reads like a catalog of the masters. Of the 40 paintings and sculptures in Part One, there are ten Remingtons and three Russells; these two are among the best known of the nineteenth-century Western artists. The exhibition also includes works by other masters: Rungius, Miller, Clymer, Dye, Koerner, Hauser, Hill, Phippen, Couse, Bierstadt, Schreyvogel, Key, Whittredge, Paxson, and Ufer.

Some, like Frederic Remington's "Arizona Cowboy," are world famous, having been reproduced countless times. "Take Off Your Boots" is also typical, showing a horse thief being forced to expose his tender feet. These works reflect Remington, the illustrator, who looked at the West through Easterner's eyes and brought back stories in the form of pictures. He rode with the cavalry, fought Indians, and sought adventure. His characters were full of the life he experienced, and his portrayals helped to shape American and European views of the Western frontier.

By contrast, Charles Russell lived in the West, sometimes with Native Americans. His view was quieter and his respectful attitude toward his subjects is reflected in the calm beauty of paintings like Sun River War Party.

One of the few mid-twentieth century artists whose work Bob Rockwell collected is John Clymer. The painter became a friend, and Bob visited his studio on several occasions. His "Time of Hunger" and "Trouble on the River" appear in the first exhibition. As Bob Rockwell fondly remembers, "When I bought 'Time of Hunger,' John Clymer said, 'You can paint a landscape and it's nice, but put an animal in it, and it adds so much. It's like driving through Yellowstone. You see great scenery, but the cars stop when people want to look at an animal.'"

Other notable art about animals in the exhibition are works by Carl Rungius, who was both a painter and a sculptor. In Bob Rockwell's view, Rungius is "by far the best painter of animals in the world." The first exhibition features three paintings: "Mule Deer," "Elk Herd," and "The Challenge." The latter is a dramatic painting of a male elk, his huge rack echoing the peaks of the mountains in the background. Another notable animal in the exhibition is "The Buffalo," a bronze by Henry Shrady. Frederic Remington owned a copy of this 1899 sculpture and wrote to his fellow artist, "I always loved that buffalo - it's bye and away the best buffalo I ever saw modeled and it has become one of the things that I had to own."

Part Two of "A Collector's Perspective" carries through the themes begun in Part One: the grandeur of the Western landscape, the stories of the people, and the majesty of the animals. Again, Remington and Russell dominate the show, but are surrounded by some of the other finest artists of the West: Hansen, Farney, Hennings, Hauser, Seltzer, Sharp, Marchand, Couse, Borein, and more. Visitors can see several grand mountain landscapes side by side - views of Yosemite by Bierstadt and Hill, Mount McKinley by Laurence, the "Deer Hunter's Camp" by Dunton, and "La Cueva Cañon, Sandias" by Hurley.

Stories, too, abound in Part Two. Borein's "Three Buckaroos" will be on exhibit at the Rockwell Museum of Western Art for the first time in the museum's history. Bob Rockwell donated the piece in 2002. Remington's "As the Smoke Lifted - Second Shot" and Russell's "Roping a Coyote" have their own drama. And among the animals represented are "Doe and Fawns" by Tait, "The Stranger" by Rungius, and "Roping a Bobcat" by Marchand.

The Rockwell Museum of Western Art owns one of the largest and finest collections of Western American art in the United States and provides the public with a chance to see the Best of the West in the Eastern United States. All of the Rockwell Museum's exhibits and services - galleries, events, art packs, Trading Post gift shop, and the adjacent Cantina - reflect the people, places, and ideas of the West, immersing visitors in an authentic Western experience. There is always something new to see at the Rockwell Museum of Western Art. The museum renews exhibits several times each year, rotating its collection through galleries based on themes: Wilderness, Buffalo, Horse, Indian, and Cowboy. Here, myths are exploded and new ways of thinking about art encouraged. In addition, three or four special exhibitions per year bring focus to other subjects. The Rockwell Museum of Western Art is entirely different from the museum visitors found prior to 2000. The building was completely redesigned to convey the feel of the West, and entirely new galleries present the collection in an outstanding, dramatic setting worthy of the art.

The museum is open daily year round except New Year's Eve, New Year's Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. Located in south central New York State, the Museum is within easy driving distance of Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, and New York City. The area is served by the Elmira-Corning Regional Airport. Further information about the museum is available by telephone at 607-