Current Exhibits
38th Annual Trappings of Texas
Trappings of Texas is the oldest and best exhibit and sale of contemporary Western art and custom cowboy gear in the country.
Image: Desert Blooms solid Sterling silver belt buckle set, 3″ x 4″ by Wayne Franklin, 2024 Trappings of Texas Premier Artist
Click here for more information and to see all of the 2024 Artwork & Gear
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
Going to Texas map exhibit
Going to Texas: Five Centuries of Texas Maps
Original maps of Texas from the Yana and Marty Davis Map Collection.
On exhibit in the upstairs gallery of the historic building.
Photographs by Ron Castle
Ron Castle is a native Texan and professional photographer working out of his studio near Del Rio. He spends much of his free time traveling throughout Texas, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Wyoming gathering landscape and wildlife images as well as documenting the work and lifestyle of the American cowboy.
On exhibit in the Hallway Gallery next to the gift shop.
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!