National Museum of Wildlife Art
The National Museum of Wildlife Art
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| Established | May 16, 1987 |
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| Location |
2820 Rungius Road |
| Type | Wildlife Art |
| Visitors | 85,000+ annually |
| Director | Steve Seamons, Museum Director |
| Curator | Dr. Adam Harris, Peterson Curator of Art and Research |
| Public transit access | START Bus |
| Website | National Museum of Wildlife Art |
2820 Rungius Road
The National Museum of Wildlife Art (NMWA) is a museum located in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, United States that preserves and exhibits wildlife art. The 51,000 square foot building with its Idaho quartzite façade was inspired by the ruins of Slains Castle in Aberdeenshire, Scotland and echoes the hillside behind the facility. Located on a bluff called East Gros Ventre Butte in the midst of a real wildlife habitat, the institution overlooks the National Elk Refuge and is situated 2.5 miles north of the town of Jackson. The core of the collections reflects traditional and contemporary realism. The Museum's centerpiece is a collection of works by Carl Rungius (1869-1959) and Bob Kuhn (1920-2007). In addition to 14 galleries, the museum has a Sculpture Trail, Museum Shop, Restaurant, Children’s Discovery Gallery, and Library. More than 80,000 people visit every year, and over 10,000 children visit the Museum each year, often as part of their school curricula.
The Museum was founded in 1987 by William and Joffa Kerr and a group of friends. It was initially situated on the Jackson Town Square and was at first called the Wildlife of the American West Museum. The Kerrs donated the core of the Museum's holdings from their own collection. In 1994, the NMWA opened a 51,000-square-foot (4,700 m2) facility 2.5 miles (4.0 km) north of its previous location, across Highway 89 from the National Elk Refuge. In September 2007, the Museum dedicated a new monumental sculpture of five elk called Wapiti Trail by American sculptor Bart Walter.
As of 2012 there were more than 5,000 cataloged artworks and 550 artists represented in the Museum's permanent collection. Characteristic examples, along with those of Rungius and Kuhn, include works by Albert Bierstadt, George Catlin, Karl Bodmer, Charles Marion Russell, Frederic Remington, John James Audubon, N.C. Wyeth, Friedrich Wilhelm Kuhnert, Bruno Liljefors, Robert Bateman, Simon Gudgeon, and Mark Catesby. Additionally, there are works depicting wildlife by Auguste Rodin, Picasso, Rembrandt, Archibald Thorburn, Daniel Huntington, Rosa Bonheur, Georgia O'Keeffe, Walton Ford, Andy Warhol and Kendra Haste.
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