Current Exhibits
SPARK! Places of Innovation
Exhibit runs July 3–August 8, 2026
The Smithsonian’s nationally traveling exhibit on rural American ingenuity is on display in the Education Room at the Museum of the Big Bend.
Ait Benhaddou by BobbybGreeson
Quaerite et Invenietis
A Lifetime of Wandering and Wondering
Photographs by Bobby Greeson
June 12–September 12, 2026
The Path of Water
Paintings by Colleen O’Brien
On exhibit through September 26, 2026
Hallway gallery next to the Cultural Events Center
The Path of Water is an ongoing series of site-specific paintings made in watersheds and tributaries of the Rio Grande from Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas.
Tom Lea: Western Beef Cattle
A series of rarely exhibited paintings by the late El Paso artist Tom Lea (Dallas Museum of Art, gift of LIFE Magazine) are on display in the permanent gallery of the new Emmett & Miriam McCoy building.
Image: Round Up Time: Branding a Calf, 1945-1946, Oil on canvas covered masonite, 20” x 33.75”, Tom Lea, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of LIFE Magazine, 1950.32
Fred Darge Paintings
Fred Darge (1900-1978) traveled extensively in Texas and other western states painting the pioneers and ranchmen of the region. These ten paintings make up the Mr. & Mrs. Robert E. McKee III Family Collection. Currently on exhibit in the Emmett & Miriam McCoy museum building.
Image: Going Home by Fred Darge
Find out more about the Mr. & Mrs. Robert E. McKee III Family Fred Darge Collection
Big Bend Legacy
The exhibit Big Bend Legacy greets visitors as they enter the Museum of the Big Bend. Legacy introduces visitors to the distinctive natural history, human history and confluence of cultures in the Big Bend region. Native Americans inhabited the area for thousands of years before the arrival of the Europeans. The Spanish, through their system of missions and presidios, imprinted their customs on the region only to be replaced by the nation of Mexico. The westward expansion of the United States brought yet another unique culture to the Big Bend. Big Bend Legacy invites the visitor to experience this panorama of natural and human history. Enjoy the video montage below which walks you through the museum’s world-class permanent exhibits!