Visitors to the National Museum of Wildlife Art may see cranes, hard hats, and a little dust but they will also see much more: Even as the museum continues its ambitious schedule of sculpture trail construction and building upfits, the new summer exhibition series is in full swing:
Yellowstone to Yukon: The Journey of Wildlife Art (through August 14, 2011) – A collaboration with the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative (Y2Y) and the Whyte Museum in Banff, this exhibition taps the interconnected Canada-to-U.S. migratory corridor’s rich artistic history with examples by such masters as Albert Bierstadt and Bob Kuhn, while conveying its importance for sustaining wildlife populations.
Above Timberline: Engravings by Carl Rungius (through October 2, 2011) – The first exhibition in its entirety of the museum’s complete collection of drypoint etchings by master wildlife artist Carl Rungius portrays his empathy for wildlife and wilderness.
Wyoming Winners: 2011 Federal Junior Duck Stamp Contest(through August 7, 2011) – Since 1994, the museum has collaborated with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in conducting the Wyoming Junior Duck Stamp Conservation and Design Program, including displaying stamp contest entries by local K-12 students.
“Our summer season has kicked off with a bang, offering visitors exciting new exhibitions and an up-close peek at the construction underway,” says museum President and CEO James McNutt, who notes that the museum is offering free behind-the-scenes hard hat tours to the public at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. daily.
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Work on the building exterior in the next weeks includes installation of new stone at the building’s porte-cochere and concrete pouring at the sidewalk trail south. As construction continues, more than 37,000 square feet of Oakley Quartzite, mined from Idaho, will be placed on the facade.
A member of the Museums West consortium and accredited by the American Association of Museums, the National Museum of Wildlife Art of the United States provides an exciting calendar of exhibitions from its permanent collection and changing exhibitions from around the globe.
A complete schedule is available online at www.wildlifeart.org