National Cowboy Museum- October 29

This is an excellent museum located north of Oklahoma city. It sure whetted our appetite for our trip west! John Wayne was quite influential in getting it started. It was founded in 1955 and features paintings and sculptures by such artists as Frederick Remington,James Fraser,Charles Russell and Kenneth Hurley. It has entire rooms with displays of different kinds of barb wire,cattle brands,saddles,cowboy boots,guns and whatever else you can imagine having to do with the western United States. The museum also did not forget the cowgirl and the Native American. It also has a simulated rodeo arena and a 1900 cattle town. The area of the museum I enjoyed most was the Western Performers Gallery. This honors the performers in cinema who have contributed to the making and preservation of the stories and legends of the West. A lot of John Wayne's collection of memorabilia and artwork can be found here. I have posted here a picture of Remington's sculpture entitled "Coming Through the Rye", and a statute of Buffalo Bill Cody done by Leonard McMurry- this artwork is located in the gardens outside of the museum.