There’s no better place to see ‘Wild West’ artwork than this historic Denver building
The American Museum of Western Art offers guests the chance to experience yesteryear through its unique collection of artwork that depicts scenes of the American West.
As the permanent home of the Anschutz Collection, the museum features over 300 paintings by more than 180 artists portraying the pioneering days from the 1800s through the 2000s.
The museum is housed in the old Navarre Building in Denver, across from the Brown Palace Hotel. According to Atlas Obscura, the Navarre Building opened in 1880 as the Brinker Collegiate Institute, a school for women. It reopened in 1889 as the Hotel Richlieu as a brothel with a secret underground tunnel to the Brown Palace.
When the building was lost in a card game in 1914, the new owner changed its name to the Navarre and turned it into a dining club.
William Foxley, an art collector, bought the building in 1983 and spent $6 million turning it into the Museum of Western Art. The museum closed in 1997.
The Anschutz Corporation, however, took over the museum that same year and refurbished and redecorated it. It would still be more than a decade before the average person could check it out, though, as the Anschutz Collection didn’t open to the public until 2010.
Today, patrons can explore the museum through self-guided tours or a guided tour. The museum also offers art enrichment programs.
As one of the “greatest surveys of Western American art in the country,” the American Museum of Western Art is a great place to learn about and engage with Colorado’s Wild West history and culture.