To preserve and interpret the museum collections, emphasizing American Western art and Native American culture. To foster a deeper understanding of these cultures and aesthetic traditions through dynamic exhibitions and educational activities that attract interest from a broader public.

Chock full of wonderful surprises, the Rockwell Museum of Western Art is located in the historic 1893 City Hall building near Corning's historic Market Street. The Museum was founded in 1976 with Robert and Hertha Rockwell's generous donation of an extensive art collection, the City's gift of its old City Hall, and major funding from Corning Incorporated. The building has twice undergone extensive renovation. The most recent was in 2000, when Museum officials decided to focus on and expand its fine collection of American Western art.

The philosophy behind this redesign was to make this Museum a place that visitors would find stimulating, engaging, and downright fun! And so it is! The galleries are organized by themes, rather than dates or artists. Wall text invites visitors to explode stereotypes and explore fresh ideas about America and the West. In Art Packs, children find exciting activities to do on their own, as they explore the Museum. All in all, this is a place that children and adults will thoroughly enjoy.

The Rockwell Museum's extensive collection of nineteenth and twentieth century art is rotated regularly through its galleries. Each gallery focuses on a different theme: Wilderness, Cowboy, Indian, Horse, and Buffalo. In these, visitors see the works of some of the best-known nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century artists: Remington, Russell, Dallin, Sharp, Dunton, Moran, and many more. Adjacent to these are recent additions to the collection by exciting artists like Emmi Whitehorse, Kay WalkingStick, Norman Akers, Christine McHorse, Rick Bartow, Harold Joe Waldrum, and others.

As a result of this unique approach, visitors are likely to find a huge, majestic landscape of "Mt. Whitney" by the nineteenth century master Albert Bierstadt sharing a gallery with Deborah Butterfield's contemporary "Horse" sculpture and Jaune Quick-to-See Smith's quiet but compelling "N-D-N for Life." Artworks in the galleries are changed frequently, so that visitors can always discover "what's new" at the Rockwell.

Another special feature is the Museum's comfortable Western living room, the Remington and Russell Lodge. On its walls are some favorite drawings and sculptures by these masters, alongside some fine Native American crafts and beautifully made historic firearms. Here visitors can relax and enjoy a conversation beside the hearth, or look through books and magazines about art.

Two additional galleries house short-term special exhibitions.

For many, the Museum experience means taking home some special memento. The Rockwell's Western-style Trading Post boasts an excellent selection of reproductions, prints, and books, as well as silver, turquoise, and beaded jewelry, weavings, children's stories, toys, games, cooking items, postcards, and t-shirts.

Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Extended Hours July 1 through Labor Day: Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. ; Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Closed New Year's Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day.

Special combined-admission tickets with Corning Museum of Glass also available.

Location:

111 Cedar Street, around the corner from historic Market Street, Corning – in New York's beautiful Finger Lakes Wine Country.

Key Personnel:

Kristin A. Swain, Executive Director
Sue Bodemer, Operations Manager