Highlights Tour Offered Daily

If you have never been to the Booth Western Art Museum, or haven’t been since the 40,000 square foot addition, you must visit soon! And what better way to become acclimated to the new pieces of art than to take advantage of the Highlights Tour offered daily to Museum guests.

The Highlights Tour takes place at 1:30 p.m. every day the Museum is open. Additionally, groups of 15 or more can call in advance to arrange a Highlight’s Tour at another time. It lasts up to an hour and a half, and introduces visitors to each gallery theme with some in-depth discussion of one or two works in each gallery.


To become a docent, individuals must attend an 18-week course at the Booth Museum. Here, veteran docent Spencer Dillard leads a training session for the docent class.


Beginning in the Museum Atrium, the docent leading the tour will point out the two Harry Jackson murals located on either end of the Great Hall. From there, the docent leads tour participants into the Enduring Traditions Gallery – a new gallery which allows guests to experience a 100 year overview of early Western art with examples of work by George Catlin, Charles M. Russell, Frederic Remington and more. The docent will then take guests through the First Peoples, Colliding Cultures, and Wild, Wooly & Wicked? galleries before leading the group upstairs.

On the second floor, docents highlight the American Cowboy, Faces, and Heading West galleries before moving into the new wing and pointing out some notable sculptures in the two-story sculpture court, and works in the new Modern West gallery which also includes more than 200 Native American artifacts.

While the tour gives a great overview of the Museum, guests are encouraged to go back into each gallery as well as explore the Civil War Gallery, Presidential Gallery, and lower level of the Museum. So what are you waiting for?! Come enjoy a delicious lunch in the Museum Café and then take advantage of our Highlights Tour at 1:30 p.m.

As always, call 770-387-1300 or visit http://www.boothmuseum.org/ for more information.

Exhibit Depicts Contributions of African Americans

In correlation with Black History Month, the Booth Western Art Museum is pleased to announce Acworth artist Ernest Varner and his current exhibit, The Longest Mile, now on display.

(In this photo, Ernest Varner shows his piece Commander-in-Chief, and explains the long road that African Americans have taken from Buffalo Soldier to the highest military rank there is – Commander in Chief.)

Drawing on his experience in the military and his passion for art, Varner created The Longest Mile to pay tribute to the Buffalo Soldier and show just how far African Americans have come in military ranking. Sergeant Major was generally the highest rank a Buffalo Soldier could earn, and through the years African Americans have moved higher and higher. General Colin Powell held the highest U.S. government rank of all African Americans when he was appointed Secretary of State under the Bush Administration, until President Obama became Commander in Chief.

Varner’s work celebrates a diversity of heroes to encourage Americans to celebrate their ethnic heritage and inspire the next generation of Americans regarding the journey ahead. His work will be on display in the Theatre Lobby Gallery until March 14.


(A Noble Past, which is part of the Booth Museum’s permanent collection, is one of the paintings in The Longest Mile exhibition. It depicts a Buffalo Soldier standing alongside an African tribesman; a piece which reflects a proud African heritage.)

Evening Lecture at the Booth Museum:
Using the images from his exhibition, Varner will present an Evening Lecture in the Booth Theatre on Thursday, February 18, at 7:00 p.m., and will describe why he became interested in portraying the history of African Americans in the West. He will be joined on the program by Jim “Hank” Scott a long-time researcher and Buffalo Soldier re-enactor. Scott will describe the heroic efforts of the Buffalo Soldiers.

Booth Art Academy Gears Up for the First Class in the New Year

Don't forget about the upcoming Jr. Pottery class at the Booth Art Academy! Those registered will experience mud like never before in the first class of the Spring semester at BAA. The Jr. Pottery workshop is for kids ages 7 & up, all of which are no doubt going to have some good ol' fashioned messy fun. Students will learn the basic ceramic techniques of pinch, coil and slab building, and exlpore the potter's wheel. Participants will also take home several completed pieces - perfect gifts to give Mom and Dad for Valentine's Day. The first workshop is next Tuesday, February 2, and will be held the following three Tuesdays in February. All workshops are from 4:00 to 5:30 p.m. at the TRC building located at 1 N. Gilmer Street. The class is currently filled, but anyone interested should call 770-387-3849 to be placed on the waiting list. And be sure to check out the Booth Museum Web site to take a look at all the upcoming classes offered this Spring at BAA so you don't miss out on another class!

Sculpture Unveiling and Film Screening

This past Thursday, the Booth Western Art Museum unveiled Craig Bergsgaard's newest sculpture Memorare, Sand Creek 1864 (shown at left). Bergsgaard spoke about his inspiration for the piece which depicts a Native American man clutching a torn American flag with a woman's lifeless body laid over him. In addition to the sculpture unveiling, Don Vasicek showed an abridged version of his film Ghosts of Sand Creek. In the film , Cheyenne and Arapho descendants of the Sand Creek Massacre tell their personal oral history of the injustices committed by the U.S. Military. After the unveiling and film screening, researcher Jessica Osenbrugge joined Bergsgaard and Vasicek for a panel discussion about the 1864 event.

Pictured here (left to right): Don Vasicek, Jessica Osenbrugge and Craig Bergsgaard.

(Become a Fan of the Booth Museum on Facebook to see the complete photo album from Thursday's lecture.)

Booth Museum's Jim Dunham to Appear on PBS

Jim Dunham, director of special projects and historian for the Booth Western Art Museum, will appear on PBS' "American Experience: Wyatt Earp" on Monday, January 25, at 9:00 p.m. The one hour film will depict the life of Earp who was an officer of the law for a large portion of his life, and is perhaps most known for his participation in the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Ariz. Dunham, who has been fascinated by cowboys and Indians since a young age, went to Arizona last summer to be interviewed on why the story of Earp and the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral is still viable, important and interesting. Check out the article in today's Daily Tribune News for more information about Dunham's participation in the film.


(Special thanks to local artist and Booth Volunteer Carol Rotti who painted the awesome back drop behind Jim Dunham.)

Mark Your Calendar for Annual Cowboy Gathering

Be sure to mark your calendar for the Booth Museum's 7th Annual Southeastern Cowboy Gathering which is secheduled for March 11-14, 2010. Scheduled events include evening concerts on Friday and Saturday night, chuck wagon and Dutch oven cooking contests, mandolin, fiddle, guitar and banjo contests, children’s activities, and an artist’s workshop with featured artist Nelson Boren. Other special guests include Red Steagall and Sweethearts in Carhartts. The event will take place at the Booth Western Art Museum and the Grand Theatre, both located in historic downtown Cartersville.

On Thursday, March 11, visitors to the Museum can listen to Doc Stovall and the Tumbleweed Cowboy Band in the Museum Atrium from 5 to 7 p.m. At 7:00 p.m., featured artist Nelson Boren will present a lecture in the Booth Theatre on his artistic style and career highlights, and will be available to sign copies of the official Gathering poster in the Museum Store following his lecture.

Friday's activities inlcude an artist’s workshop conducted by featured artist Nelson Boren, and a special concert in the Booth Ballroom with musical guests Sweethearts in Carhartts.
Throughout the day Saturday, there will be a variety of events for the entire family. As part of the Southeastern Chuck Wagon Cook-Off, teams of cooks will prepare beans, meat, potatoes, bread and desserts just as they did during the cattle drives of the 1800s. Other activities include a fiddle, mandolin, guitar and banjo contest, adult Cowboy Poetry workshop, continuous family entertainment, and children’s activities throughout the Museum. Saturday evening’s concert features famed Western singer, songwriter, poet, and guitarist Red Steagall.

The weekend wraps-up Sunday, March 14, beginning with Cowboy Church in the Booth Ballroom at 11:00 a.m. After the service, from Noon to 4:00 p.m., a Dutch Oven Cooking Contest will take place on the Museum’s festival grounds. Top cooks will compete for prizes and bragging rights in three categories: bread, main dish and dessert, and will serve samples to the public. Also during this time the Georgia Youth Cowboy Poetry Contest Finals will be held in the Booth Theatre. The top 10 Georgia Youth Cowboy Poetry Contest finalists in four age divisions, representing grades five through twelve, will compete for cash prizes which are awarded for first, second and third place. Children’s activities will also be offered throughout the Museum.

For more information on the 7th Annual Southeastern Cowboy Gathering, including admission prices and schedule, visit www.boothmuseum.org or call 770-387-1300.

Atlanta & Company Promotes World Premiere Exhibition

Curator of the Kenneth M. Freeman Legacy Collection, Bonnie Adams, was a featured guest on Atlanta & Company Wednesday. Adams discussed the Kenneth M. Freeman Exhibition: An Artist at Work, which is on display now at the Booth Western Art Museum. This World Premiere will travel to various other parts of the Unites States when it leaves here May 2.

The exhibition features more than 50 oil paintings and sculptures that feature working cowboys and cowgirls, rodeo heroes, Native American elders and children, mountain men, Western landscapes, and Buffalo Soldiers. In addition to the paintings and sculptures, An Artist at Work also highlights a number of educational exhibits that include a re-creation of Ken Freeman’s studio complete with easel and artifacts, and a section on Ken Freeman, the illustrator, showcasing a display of book covers and posters including ‘Fallon’ by Louis L’Amour.

Referred to as the Jewish Cowboy, Freeman was a graduate of the American Academy of Art in Chicago, having begun classes at the age of 15. He passed away in June of 2008leaving a rich body of work unrivaled by many artists. Today, Freeman’s paintings hang in museums, galleries and private collections around the world including The Library of Congress American Legacy Collection, The Booth Western Art Museum and the family of President Herbert Hoover.

Adams will present a lecture on Freeman’s artistic career at a Members Only Reception tomorrow, January 16, at the Booth Western Art Museum.