Gene Autry comes to life!

On July 17th at 7:00 pm the legacy of Gene Autry will come to life! Holly George-Warren will read from her acclaimed biography, Public Cowboy No.1: The Life and Times of Gene Autry and discuss Autry’s legendary career. The biography is truly fascinating and entertaining. It contains detailed accounts of Autry’s life as well as interesting sections of Gene Autry photographs. Jeanine Basinger of The New York Times said this of George-Warren’s biography:

Johnny Cash called him a major influence, Ringo Starr wanted to be a cowboy like him, and Willie Nelson named a son for him. Public Cowboy No. 1 tells the story of the man who inspired their admiration with a quality worthy of the subject.

Gene Autry was a major aspect to the entertainment industry. Autry spent over 70 years involved with film, radio, television, live theater, and rodeo performances. In 1941, Berwyn, Oklahoma became named Gene Autry, Oklahoma. Autry was the author and singer of hundreds of Western cowboy songs and starred in some 91-television productions and completed 93 movies. Gene Autry has often been considered the most popular and celebrated Western film actors in history.

On July 17th film clips will show cinematic highlights of Autry andHollyGeorge-Warren’s husband, singer-songwriter Robert Burke Warren, also known as the popular children’s music artist Uncle Rock, will perform. Robert Burke Warren is a singer and songwriter for both adult and kids music genres. MacKenzie Wilson of the All-Music Guide describes Robert Burke Warren as “A stunning poetic musician”. Robert Burke Warren will perform some of Autry’s greatest hits. Tickets are $5 for Booth Museum members; $10 for not-yet-members. Please join us in remembering this great Western icon!

The 3rd Biennial Staff, Volunteer, and Member Art Exhibition and Honi Deaton & Dream

On June 19th the dynamic Bluegrass Group, Honi Deaton & Dream, performed at the Booth Western Art Museum. Before the concert was the Meet the Artists Reception for the 3rd Biennial Staff, Volunteer, and Member Art Exhibition. The Exhibition, on display in the Borderlands Gallery through July 27th, is truly exceptional. There are a great many talented people involved with Booth Western Art Museum in the surrounding community!
This extraordinary painting is by Nikki Davidson.


© Nikki Davidson, Rain - A Portrait of Jessica Belcourt - Cherokee Nation, 2008, oil on canvas, 25 x 21"

Honi Deaton & Dream are made up of husband and wife Honi and Jeff Deaton, Wayde Powell and Josh Brooks. To those of you who missed it, the concert was phenomenal! Honi, twice nominated for IBMA Female Vocalist of the Year, has a powerful soulful voice with a charming sweet personality. The band started their performance at 7:00pm and played many western inspired favorites, including some songs by Patsy Cline and Gene Watson. They also performed gospel favorites along with both traditional and original blue grass songs and instrumentals. Honi and her band mates told meaningful stories and also amused the crowd by poking fun at each other. Almost every seat in the Booth Theatre was filled as this extremely talented group entertained and moved the audience. It was a great way to end the week at the Booth Western Art Museum!

Space Silence Spirit- Maynard Dixon’s West

© Maynard Dixon, Sasabe, 1941, Oil on canvas board,
12 x 16", The Hays Collection

Now showing in the Special Exhibitions Gallery is an engaging exhibition that is sure to rouse emotion and thought in the viewer. Maynard Dixon lived from 1875 to 1946 and was able to capture the beauty and existence of the great frontier west. This exhibition not only showcases Dixon’s variety of paintings and drawings but also provides memorabilia from the A.P. Hays Collection and the Brigham Young University Museum of Art. These memorabilia give the audience an account of Dixon’s struggles, opinions, loves, careers, and life. Of the memorabilia is an exchange of Christmas greeting cards between Dixon and the famed Charles M. Russell, painted by each respectively.


One painting by Dixon in particular depicts a landscape of the western plains. Appropriately titled, The Plains, this painting is wonderfully surreal in its magnificence. The audience can see a rainstorm falling from a cluster of majestic clouds in the distance. With over 75 drawings, small paintings and 15 studio paintings, both similar and different from The Plains, this exhibition shows the diversity, splendor, and beauty of the western frontier as well as the person of Maynard Dixon. A truly informational and moving exhibition, Space Silence Spirit: Maynard Dixon's West is worth a re-visit to the museum and a definite must see to those who have yet to visit us!

Busy Night!

Last night was a busy night for the museum. Jim Dunham and Doc Stovall performed their popular "Trails Plowed Under" program in the museum theatre. For anyone who has never seen the show - you need to see it. It's fantastic. The amazingly talented Jim Dunham takes on the persona of legendary Western artist Charlie Russell. Before your very eyes, Jim paints a complete copy of a Charlie Russell painting (he actually paints the whole thing) and he recites passages from Charlie Russell's book "Trails Plowed Under" (hence the name of the show). While Jim is painting, Doc performs songs related to the life of Charlie Russell. At the end of the performance, the original Jim Dunham artwork of the original Charlie Russell artwork was raffled off. The money from the raffle went to the our education and programming fund.

We were delighted to have a number of very special guests in the audience for this performance. Some members of the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art were visiting Atlanta for a few days and made the us one of their stops. Thank you for including us in your visit. We hope you enjoyed your time with us.

While all this was going on at the museum, several museum staff members were at at the Cobb County Chamber Business Expo at the Cobb Galleria. The museum was one of 156 exhibitors at the expo. Our sister museum, Tellus, was also present. Unfortunately we were not able to have side-by-side booths. The expo was a great opportunity to share the museums with a number people in Cobb County who have never even heard of us. And, rumor has it, Tellus' new marketing director, Joe, won an Atlanta Thrashers hockey stick. Not a bad way to spend the evening.

Congratulations Winners of the 2008 Youth Cowboy Poetry Contest

The Booth Museum would like to congratulate the winners of the 2008 Youth Cowboy Poetry Contest. The contest, held in conjunction with the Booth Cowboy Gathering in April, 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 returned to the Booth to compete for cash prizes in the final competition on Saturday, April 19, 2008 in honor of National Cowboy Poetry Week. Congratulations to the winners:

Grades 5 – 6

1st Place: Joseph Nease
2nd Place: Lauren Seymour
3rd Place: Victoria Staley

Grades 7 – 8

1st Place: Maria Cabanas
2nd Place: Ben Vagase
3rd Place: Mallory Fleming

Grades 9 – 12

1st Place: Kayla Frazier
2nd Place: Rachel Potter

Booth named "Smartest Business in Town!"

The Booth Western Art Museum’s “Booth Banditos” were named “Smartest Business in Town” after their victory at the Cartersville Schools Foundation’s inaugural Brain Bowl competition in March. The “Booth Banditos” were the top team out of four that made it to the buzzer round of the trivia contest.

Team members included: Doc Stovall, Cathy Lee Eckert, Jason Woodside and Seth Hopkins.

Money raised by the event will go to the Cartersville Schools Foundation and will be used to support classroom grants and Teacher of the Year recognitions.
Due to the success of the inaugural event, the second-annual Brain Bowl is scheduled for Friday, March 13, 2009.

A True West Weekend: Artist Spotlight

A True West Weekend is almost here! We invite you to visit the Booth Museum as we celebrate Western art and literature. Join us Thursday, April 10 through Saturday, April 12 for a weekend of fun with authors and artists!

Artist Spotlight: Thom Ross

Thom Ross was born in San Francisco in 1952 and raised in Sausalito, California . A 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. Through his art, Ross strives to make tangible those aspects of these stories which have a mythic quality about them. Sometimes whimsical, sometimes violent, Ross's work is always based on historical facts, though the focus of the work is always much more concerned with the mythic elements then historical accuracy.

To learn more about Ross' work, visit his Web site at http://www.thomrossart.com/

For a complete schedule of A True West Weekend, click HERE.