Singles ClubEllie Daly
The PebbleCreek Singles Club went on a guided tour and discovered the rich history and culture of the American West. We viewed a stunning art exhibition titled People, Places, Predicaments. It featured over 50 paintings by John Ford Clymer from the Eddie Basha Collection. We then viewed bronzes by Western artist John Coleman from Frankie and Howard Alper’s extraordinary collection of artwork.
We continued on to Courage & Crossroads: A Visual Journey through the American West. Meriwether Lewis’ presentation style pipe tomahawk and other rare Native American objects served as the centerpiece of this story of America’s West in the 19th and early 20th centuries. There were more than 100 paintings and sculptures by artists ranging from Thomas Moran and Alfred Jacob Miller to Frederic Remington and Charles M. Russell, and vintage photographs by Edward S. Curtis.
Also on exhibit for the first time, there were more than 65 of the finest examples of Hopi pottery that celebrates six centuries of the Hopi people and culture, whose tribal land lies in northern Arizona.
The West would not be without a large collection of revolvers, rifles, saddles, knives, holsters, spurs, chaps, badges and more. We saw a collection of 1,400 Old West items from Scottsdale gallerist Abe Hays. The exhibition themes include: Working Cowboys; Wild West Shows; Western Gear Made in Prisons; Rodeos and Fairs; Western Movies and Parades; Outlaws and Lawmen; Western Saloons; and Illustrations.
On display in the museum lobby, this large-scale timeline highlights the groundbreaking exhibitions and remarkable achievements that have established Western Spirit Scottsdale’s Museum of the West as one of the nation’s best Western museums.
It was truly a great experience to see all the artwork and artifacts, and hear the stories about Western history from our tour guide. After hours of touring, it was time to enjoy tacos, enchiladas, and margaritas at Los Sombreros.