Robert Fox

Review of National Western Stock Show

I'm neither a rodeo nor a stock show person and I ...

I'm neither a rodeo nor a stock show person and I don't find the trade show aspect of this event very interesting either. However, yet another feature is the Coors Western Art Exhibit & Sale and I am an art lover. The art show dates to 1993 and attracts top artists from all over the country. The general theme is western art, but everything from sculpture to abstraction to impressionism to realism is included in a wide variety of media. The quality of the work is top-notch.

Since 1994 the National Western has purchased one work each year for its permanent collection. These are, unfortunately, not currently on public display. Proceeds from the show go to the National Western's scholarship program. The art show is currently tucked away in a back corner of the third floor of the National Western Complex. It will have a much larger and more prominent location in the planned National Western Center, along with display space for the permanent collection.

The National Western offers extensive free parking and a free shuttle bus to the various outlying lots and to the main buildings. This makes getting to the event quite easy. You do need to pay the grounds admission fee to access the art show, but there's a free day each year that waives this charge.