Georgia Native to Speak at A True West Weekend

The Booth Western Art Museum will welcome renowned author Gary Roberts to A True West Weekend Saturday, April 12 at 1 p.m. Roberts, a native of Tifton, Ga. will discuss his book entitled Doc Holliday: The Life and Legend, which explores the life of Doc Holliday, another well-known Georgia native. The discussion will be a part of A True West Weekend that begins Thursday, April 10 and continues through Saturday.

Roberts’ most recent work Doc Holliday: The Life and Legend explores the life of one of the most famous gunfighters of the Old West, well known for his association with Wyatt Earp and the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. Using more than 20 years of research, Roberts gives the reader a look into the life of Holliday beginning with his childhood, growing up in Griffin, Ga., to his death in 1887.

Roberts has published dozens of articles in magazines, journals, anthologies and specialized encyclopedias. His writing covers a wide span of subjects including the Western gunfighter, the historiography of the West's gunmen, the legend-making process, the Indian wars and frontier violence. In 1988 he co-edited Georgia Governors in an Age of Change with Harold P. Henderson and in 1990, authored Death Comes for the Chief Justice: The Slough-Rynerson Quarrel and Political Violence in New Mexico.

A True West Weekend

The Booth Western Art Museum will play host to Western authors and artists from across the nation during A True West Weekend, sponsored by True West magazine, April 10-12. This event is open to the public and price will be included with regular museum admission throughout the weekend.

To coincide with the True West Weekend, the Booth Museum will present Captured on Canvas! Gunfighters and Outlaws by Bob Boze Bell and Thom Ross, April 1-June 22 in the Theatre Lobby Gallery. Artwork by Bob Boze Bell and Thom Ross is routinely used on the cover of Western history books and magazines. Both artists are students of Western history; yet they choose to create their artwork in a stylized manner that separates it from traditional Western realism. This exhibition focuses on their work related to famous individuals such as Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, “Wild Bill” Hickok, Billy “The Kid” and many others.

The True West Weekend will begin on Thursday, April 10 and will feature artists Bob Boze Bell and Thom Ross. A Meet the Artists Reception and Opening for Captured on Canvas! Gunfighters and Outlaws by Bob Boze Bell and Thom Ross will be held in the Booth Theatre at 5:00 p.m.

Bob Boze Bell is an author and emerging artist for both the film and print industries and his work’s dramatic action and attention to detail is becoming a favorite for top producers, directors and editors. In addition writing several popular books, Bell's work has been featured on the covers of Wild West Magazine, True West Magazine, and Arizona Highways. Bell is the executive editor of True West Magazine, dedicated to “preserving the American West” since 1953 and providing readers with the best of Western history, travel, art, and more.

Thom Ross’ s life-long fascination with both the historical and the mythical West has directed his career. The majority of Ross's work is inspired by those moments in history, which are often transformed into events whose allegorical meanings seem to transcend their historical roots.
Join renowned authors throughout the weekend as they discuss various topics about their works. Sessions will be held on Friday and Saturday beginning at 10:30 a.m. in the Booth Theatre. Visiting authors include: Bob Boze Bell, James Donnovan, Dan Buck, Ann Meadows, Allen Barra, Gary Roberts and Paul Cool.

More details on the schedule of events can be obtained by checking the Museum website at http://www.boothmuseum.org/ or calling 770-387-1300.

Thank You!

The Booth Museum would like to thank everyone who came out for the 5th Annual Cowboy Gathering! The weekend was a great success and could not have been possible without the help of our staff, volunteers, sponsors, participants and our visitors!

For more information about the Booth Museum and the Cowboy Gathering Weekend, please visit http://www.boothmuseum.org/

The Booth Western Art Museum is pleased to announce the winners of the 2008 Youth Cowboy Poetry Contest. The contest was open for students in three age groups: grades five and six, grades seven and eight and grades nine through twelve. Students selected from topics relative to the theme The Spirit of the American West and submitted their entries to a panel of judges. The top fifteen finalists in each age group competed at the Booth Western Art Museum on Saturday, March 8 as part of the Cowboy Gathering.

The finalists will return to the Booth to compete for cash prizes in the final competition on Saturday, April 19, 2008 in honor of National Cowboy Poetry Week.



Finalists in the 2008 Cowboy Poetry Competition include:

Grades 5 and 6
· Joseph Nease from Cartersville, Ga., Bartow County 4-H
· Victoria Staley from Cartersville, Ga., Cartersville Middle School
· Lauren Nicole Seymour from Cartersville, Ga., Cartersville Middle School

Grades 7 and 8
· Ben Vagase from Cartersville, Ga., Cartersville Middle School
· Maria Cabanas from Cartersville, Ga., Cartersville Middle School
· Mallory Fleming from Cartersville, Ga., South Central Middle School

Grades 9 through 12
· Rachel Potter from Rydal, Ga., Adairsville High School
· Omicha Stapleton from Peachtree City, Ga., McIntosh High SchoolKayla Frazier from White, Ga., Adairsville High School

The Booth is Growing!

The new addition to the Booth Museum is starting to take shape! Construction that began in 2007 is continuing on into the New Year in hopes of a completion in early 2009.

Framework for the new addition has been constructed and work continues to move quickly towards the finished product.

The two-story addition to the Museum will house four to five new galleries as well as provide space for events such as conferences, lectures and meetings.

“The first purpose of the addition is it would provide more gallery space, and it would allow us to expand our existing collection,” said executive director Seth Hopkins. “The addition also will serve as a multi-purpose space to do events. We get a lot of people calling us about hosting civic club meetings or corporate functions, but we are not set up for it.”

That will soon change, as the new wing gets closer to completion and more space is provided. Continue to check back for more details on the progress of the Booth’s exciting expansion!

As the Booth construction continues, Georgia Museums is also excited about the continuing progress of Tellus: NorthWest Georgia Science Museum! For progress reports and more information on what is going on at Tellus, click HERE.

Booth Art Academy

The Booth Museum takes another look at the new line of classes available for all ages throughout the spring as part of the Booth Art Academy.

The spring semester kicks off with Drawing and Painting Animals with Henry Patton where simple drawing lessons and beginning watercolor techniques will help artists of all skill levels produce amazing animal portraits. Participants will learn the basics of composition, perspective, color theory, and other painting techniques under the instruction of artist Henry Patton.

Before becoming a painter, Henry Patton spent several years as a professional photographer, graphic designer, illustrator and Web site designer. He later used those skills to influence his work as a painter of wildlife and landscapes. He has experimented and explored several types of techniques as well as mediums to capture the essence of the wildlife he paints. His works have been exhibited in galleries all over the nation including the Chapman Friedman Gallery in Louisville, Ky.

Henry Patton’s drawing and painting animals class will begin Tuesday, January 22 and will meet for the following eight Tuesdays, ending on Tuesday, March 11 from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. The fee for this class is $250 for Museum members and $300 for non-members.

To register for the drawing and painting animals class or any other classes being offered, call central scheduling at 770-607-3686. Continue checking back for features on other Art Academy classes and for more information on the 2008 Art Academy, click HERE.

© Henry Patton, Surise, the Journey Begins, 30"x30" oil on canvas

Evening Lecture

The Booth Museum will host an evening lecture on Thursday, January 17th at 7:00 p.m. in the Booth Theatre. The lecture, entitled Grandeur in Western Art: Then and Now will cover the incorporation of the grandeur of the Western landscape with Native American and cowboy culture in art. These two subjects use a mix of both Romantic expression and historical observation to convey the cultures of the West.
Many artists in the Booth collection continue a rich legacy that began in the mid 1800s. Their paintings are tied to the works of artists such as Bierstadt, Moran, Remington, Russell, and others.

The session will feature Dr. Daniel E. Sachs, assistant professor of art history at Kennesaw State University.

Dr. Sachs received his bachelor of art degree in art history from the State University of New York at Stony Brook in 1978, specializing in Renaissance and Baroque painting and sculpture. Dr. Sachs worked as a freelance illustrator in New York after moving there in 1981. He returned to his studies in art history at Hunter College of the City University of New York in 1987, where he received his masters degree in art history, concentrating on American Watercolor Painting, in 1990. He then went on to complete is Ph.D. in art history at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, specializing in nineteenth-century American landscape painting. Today, Dr. Sachs's art historical interests include all of nineteenth- century art and culture, particularly Romanticism and the Victorian era.

Adult education programs are held at the museum on the third Thursday of each month. Presenters are artists, authors, historians, professors, entertainers, or Booth Museum professionals.

This event is free for members and included with admission for not-yet-members.
For membership information, contact us at 770-387-1300.

The Booth Museum Announces 2008 Art Academy Schedule

The Booth Museum is excited to announce the 2008 Art Academy Schedule open to both adults and children interested in learning more about various art techniques. Adult and children's classes are available and topics include, drawing and painting, fused glass techniques, woodburning, pottery, pysanky egg dyeing and much more.

Pyrography means “writing with fire” and is the traditional art of using a heated object to burn designs onto natural materials like wood or leather. Join artist Betty Tipton in this unique workshop and create beautiful projects in balsa wood. Learn the secrets of this ancient craft that had its beginnings in early Egyptian culture and is still practiced as a traditional folk art in many European countries today.

The class will be led by Betty Tipton, who graduated from the Atlanta Art Institute with a degree in advertising design and a minor in interior design. She married an army officer and traveled the world for many years while pursuing a career in interior design. After her husband retired and the couple settled in Georgia, Betty studied carving with Orchid Davis and learned both carving and wood burning techniques. The balance and harmony of nature are reflected in her beautiful carvings. Her work has been featured in the Borderlands gallery at the Booth Museum.

The woodburning class will be held Saturday and Sunday, March 1 – 2, from 9:00 a.m to 5:00 p.m. The fee for this class is $110 for Museum members and $150 for non-members. Materials needed include a quality wood burner with two tips (will be provided for a $90 additional fee).

To register for the woodburning class or any other classes being offered, call central scheduling at 770-607-3686. Continue checking back for features on other Art Academy classes and for more information on the 2008 Art Academy, click HERE.