American Museum of Western Art - The Anschutz Collection

Worth stopping in to visit if you are interested in Western Art. Great value but felt a little more pious and stuffy than other museums we visited, mostly because of photography not being allowed. We also got a little too close to the paintings and we're politely asked to keep our distance. Understandable, but quite a change from the Denver Art Museum where we felt as though we had more freedom and less like we were being watched the whole time. Hours and days are limited to 10:00am - 4:00pm on Monday, Wednesday and Friday only, so make sure to plan accordingly. My 17 year old daughter and I stopped in here on a Wednesday in July 2024 and enjoyed our visit and liked learning more about the artists and their work, most of whom we had not heard of before. If this sort of art interests you, you definitely need to visit.

Very, very disappointing. The museum’s collection is poorly displayed. It is impossible to read the name of the artist, painting or the dates of the work without getting close to the painting. This information is shown on a small brass plate on the frame. The brass plate hasn’t been cleaned in many years and has become darkened. If you walk over to read the plate and bend your head close to it, you will be reprimanded by a guard who demands that you stand an arm’s length away, despite the fact you’re an elderly woman alone, wearing glasses and holding your hands behind your back. I felt like the guard was rude, and I was thoroughly embarrassed. The older paintings are displayed in bays that are numbered. The audio device provided for a self-guided tour will display only one of the paintings, information regarding that painting and maybe a couple more. You cannot get information about a painting of your choice. There are some 8” x 11” booklets on benches, the booklet in the bay I was in did not show the painting in which I was interested. Art history buffs should not take a self-guided tour. I was so embarrassed by the guard incident I left disappointed without completing the tour., and this was one of the main attractions I wanted to see in Denver.

The entrance fee for this spectacular collection is wonderful. (My tiny caveats are below.) You know how you can go to a museum that is 'more museum than art'? This is the opposite: more art than museum. Lucky us! The salon style of the collection can be overwhelming but just let go and experience. I agree with many others who mentioned the lighting on upper level pieces. This collection is too great to have what felt like poor lighting. But wow what a collection. My husband and I were blown away by the examples throughout the years. Personally my favorites are the paintings from the Taos Society of Artists, which one can also see at the Denver Art Museum. Next time I want to take a docent led tour. The staff was super nice and seemed quite proud to work around this priceless collection. Commentors complaining about limited hours need to remember this is a private collection that costs $5 to see--you can't have everything, people. Go, enjoy, then pop over to The Brown Palace for a cup of something.

You will get the very strong impression you aren't wanted there. The art is crammed in and of mixed quality. No interesting info is given. No photography of any kind is allowed, which is usually a sign that a museum has art it should not have. Not worth $5 or your time.

Magical, brilliant, historical collection of some of the greatest works of western artists. Talent beyond measure has created a notable depiction of the evolution of the West. The house which contains these treasures is also amazing. Highly recommend.

Great art. Unfortunately the floor attendant jessenette was incredibly rude to my elderly aunt who was only leaning into read the illustrators name. Pretty uncalled for.

The museum has a great selection of pauntings in a great setting, and admission is affordable. Remington, Russel, and Nordgeldt are my favorite. I thought it fitting that the first Nordfeldt was tucked away out of view in a corner. Its my experience that that is wgmher people want Brors, in a corner... the lighting made some details in the paintings a bit hard to see and appreciate. No photography was a let down. Finally, the paintings were not well labled so a person could easily read who the artis was from the distance s person is supposed tp stand. Little plaquards would displaying artist date and medium, would have enhanced the experience.

Beautiful western art and a vast collection of high-quality art! The collection should receive 5 stars, but the staff should receive 3. Maybe we came on an off day that was rainy, but still no excuse! We stood in the rain waiting for the door to be unlocked an hour after the museum opened and was greated by a gruff woman and security guard. Then it continued to be a very stern, dismal environment until we had a helpful security guard on the 4th floor who told us how to use the audio tour and greated us with a smile! Maybe something happened right before we arrived, but that is no excuse. We traveled a long way to see this collection. The staff needs to work on it's people skills to make this collection more enjoyable!

Nice collection! If you have an hour or so and $5 (self paced/$10 guided), you can see 3 floors of the West depicted by various painters. This is friendly to those that enjoy seeing all ranges/types of paintings. Personally, I love natural features and landscape paintings. There is no better subject for that than New Mexico's Toas, the Rocky Mountains, the Cascades, with a proud American Indian presence and the settlers to boot. 1) No pictures or photographs (thus none here) 2) It's a quiet place to see and reflect on our history. 3) Museum is very well curated.

Museums are all about establishing vibes; I am a director at a museum and besides hockey games the main things I check out in towns when I travel are all of the museums so I can see what the competition do. This was an ok museum but a pretty bad museum experience on vibes. It is all about a vibe check these days if I understand anything from my time spent on the tiktok app that your ineffectual American government is trying to take away from you since they can't solve any actual problems affecting Americans these days, so they needed to make a booger man out of the scary app. Vibe check in progress, girlbosses: This museum has extremely limited hours and days open for some reason. They have tons of rules to impose on you. No photography in the museum for some absolutely stupid reason. There are goons on each floor of the museum that shadow you closely. Did I look like I was going to eat some of the artwork? I am a visual learner so I like to read placards for more information when I want it. At this museum they give you the handset that talks at you, so most auditory information is in one ear and out the other when a homey was looking for something more in the reading department. The lady at the front desk was polite, she gets five stars. It is a decent way to spend an hour and costs $5 (just like your mother, natch) so if you are in the area during one of the limited times they are actually open you can do worse.

This museum moves me!!! Every painting speaks to me! From the majestic canyons to dessert trading posts, from rodeo scenes to galloping stage coaches...and last but so not least, the many battle scenes between indigenous people and the early settlers. The paintings in this museum tell the old American stories about the West - some glorious, some tragic, and yet some shameful. Though not world renowned, some most talented American artists painted honest and powerful images about how the West was pioneered and transformed with tears and bloodshed....like the white man who held his little girl on his horse while turning to make a last shot at the indigenous man chasing him, like the chieftain weeping next to his dying lover... guns seem to be in every other painting, perhaps that is how the West was Won. Located inside an old mansion, this is a very small museum, four floors all together so it's a nice and easy journey. You can get very close to the paintings, within inches, and feel the emotions conveyed by the artists! A wonderful and intimate experience, I'd say! No photos allowed! Kind of rare these days as most museums welcome visitors to take photos. Some of their paintings didn't seem to have a protective glass over them, maybe that's why? But I couldn't help snatching a quick no flash photo of "The Shower" (see photo), where the moment of sudden rain on two riding cowboys was perfectly captured against a backdrop of beautiful blue sky! This, completes my Colorado experience.

I was really looking forward to going to this museum and was really disappointed that no photography is allowed. It's definitely in the fine print, but it's not at all obvious and should be on their front page of website. I definitely travel to look at art A TON and take photos of what I like and to share. It's shocking that you can't take photos. The lighting could be a little better - there is a fair amount of glare on a number of the paintings. It is a very lovely collection. I wish they were more friendly to what visitors want and expect from museums: the ability to take photos.

A decent museum worth a short trip, but only open Monday, Wednesday, Friday. A lovely building with perhaps six to ten remarkable paintings worth seeing, and a lot of filler pieces which simply don't need to be there. About and hour would make for a good visit. Longer than that and the museum will overstay its welcome.

Very, very disappointing. The museum's collection is poorly displayed. It is impossible to read the name of the artist, painting or the dates of the work without getting close to the painting. This information is shown on a small brass plate on the frame. The brass plate hasn't been cleaned in many years and has become darkened. If you walk over to read the plate and bend your head close to it, you will be reprimanded by a guard who demands that you stand an arm's length away, despite the fact you're an elderly woman alone, wearing glasses and holding your hands behind your back. I felt like the guard was rude, and I was thoroughly embarrassed. The older paintings are displayed in bays that are numbered. The audio device provided for a self-guided tour will display only one of the paintings, information regarding that painting and maybe a couple more. You cannot get information about a painting of your choice. There are some 8" x 11" booklets on benches, the booklet in the bay I was in did not show the painting in which I was interested. I was so embarrassed by the guard incident I left disappointed without completing the tour.

As said in other review the art info is displayed poorly, the guards are rude and overzealous. I leaned in to read the title, yelled at, I tried moving past another guest apparently too close to the wall, yelled at, leaned over the railing to look down the center of the building and across to other artworks, yelled at. Was looking forward to really looking at their Thomas Hart Benton paintings but after my incidents with the guard I left in probably 15 minutes or less. All my interactions with staff were poor from when I stepped in all the way to when I was chastised for putting their old useless audio guide stick on the wrong table. I will not be returning. I will tell all my museum going friends to skip it. I will tell everyone I talk to about my trip to Denver how poor of a show they are running and skip it. Really too bad The collection is outstanding and could be very engaging. But I see what they got working and it ain't working.

AN ABSOLUTE GEM! Yes the hours are terrible - only open M/W/F 10-4:30 but so completely worth your time, and only $5/person. Paintings from the early 1800s to the present day. A few of the "classics" by Remington, but you'll soon forget him. The excellent, and included with your ticket, self-guided audio tour is a must, and only reinforced how much better this "warehouse" approach of floor to ceiling displays is, than the over-rated Gardner museum in Boston.

*ONLY OPEN ON MONDAYS, WEDNESDAYS, AND FRIDAYS FROM 10:00AM-4:30PM. Last entry is at 4:00PM. *No children under 8 years old. Children under 16 must be accompanied by at least one adult for every four children. There is a 1-star review that complained regarding this "unmentioned" policy -- it's actually all on their website. TICKET PRICES: A guided tour is $10 for adults while a self-guided tour is $5. Discounts available for seniors, students, and veterans. You can buy tickets at the door but they do not accept cash (credit cards only). TOURS: Tours are offered Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 10:00am and 1:00pm. Each tour will last approximately 1.5 to 2 hours. Please plan to arrive at the museum 10 minutes before your scheduled tour time. You can reserve your tour spot online. RULES: NO PHOTOGRAPHY ALLOWED INSIDE THE MUSEUM (this one surprised me since usually you are allowed to take photos without flash). No food or beverage (my friend got in trouble for having a plastic bottle of Sprite). Overall, this is a really nice museum. There are three floors of art in various styles. If you don't do the guided tour, they give you an audio tour headset to use. I just preferred to enjoy the art and discuss it with a friend and didn't listen much. For $5, it's a great deal. I can deal with no photography (hey, it's their collection, they can choose to have it available for paying visitors only). What I didn't like is: 1) how limited their hours were (I only managed to get in because my job gave us MLK Day off). It's impossible to get in here if you work FT. 2) They didn't have a gift shop. They had a couple books on the table in the lobby but that's really it. I'm not sure why museums miss the opportunity to curate gift shops -- there's so much awesome stuff available to sell and people ready to buy it. Given the theme of this museum, they could sell arts and crafts by local artisans, particularly Native Americans. 3) They didn't have any informational placards next to the art. I would have liked to know some very basic info about the paintings without having to listen to the audio. All that being said, this is still a great museum and I recommend checking it out if you get the chance.

Recently,I returned to Denver and I had the privilege of spending five quality hours sedulously studying and enjoying its very comprehensive collection of paintings relating to life in the American West..Studying the fine paintings of George Catlin and Alfred Jacob Miller was a promising start to my foray into American Western Art.Other painters with paintings that captivated me included Thomas Hill("Yosemite"),Christian Schussele("Hetty Reading The Scriptures"),,James Walker("California Vaqueros"),Frederic Remington("Morning on the Range"),Ernest Blumenschein("sangre de Christo Mountains"),Victor Higgins("Pueblo of Taos"),Walter Ufer("Paint and Indians"),Gerard Delano("Navajos on Way To Fiesta Laguna"),Georgia O'Keefe("Red Hills,Grey Sky"),Robert Henri,Marsden Hartley("New Mexico Recollection")Emil Bistram("Comadre Rafaelita"),Birger Sandzen("Glimpse of the Rockies")Thomas Hart Benton("Sheepherder"),and Kim Wiggins("Merging Cultures".This art museum is open on Wednesday,Friday.and Monday...So enjoy yourself and take advantage of this encyclopedic collection of American Western Art across the street from Denver's iconic Brown Palace.

One of my favorite museums I have ever visited. Beautiful collection and stunning location. I am begging you to check it out!!

Historic and iconic collection of spectacular western art. Time very well spent. Highly recommended.

Wow! The limited hours of this museum make it challenging to visit but it was totally worth the effort. I was very impressed with not only the quantity of Western art but the incredible artists. The museum has an entrance fee of $5 and is accompanied by a first rate audio tour. I spent about an hour walking through the three levels of art and could have easily spent much more time.

We chose to do the 10:00 am tour. It was just wonderful. Andrea was so informative and engaging. We loved it. The collection was extensive and fascinating.

Please, at least, mention you don't allow kids younger than 8 years old. Went here today and was told about this restriction.

Exquisite & Extensive collection! The private Anschutz collection contains the work of the early painters who accompanied the early western explorers to the modern artists of the Taos New Mexico art colony. Some of the best examples of each period. Even though every inch of view-able wall is covered with gilded frames and paintings, the grand openness of the exhibit areas compensate and it does not feel over-crowded. Well thought out cohesive groupings of paintings in each niche'. Small kids are not allowed, but the bonus to that is no barriers between you and the paintings allowing up close (within reason!) viewing. No pictures allowed due to preservation efforts, but books showing the collection are available to purchase. Private tours with a knowledgeable docent is the best way to see the collection. Well worth the cost of admission! No parking - park at the Pavilions and walk the couple of blocks to the museum. Directly across the street from the Brown Palace hotel - have lunch before or after at the Ship's Tavern!

Excellent collection, only $5 to get in, lots of other stuff in the walkable vicinity for an afternoon of killing time or exploring

I am blown away to be this first to post a Yelp review for this amazing collection. The best $5 you will ever spend on any museum. Anywhere. Ever. Three floors in salon style installation of the most monumental assembly of western paintings I have ever seen. I understand that the audio guide is very good. I didn't use it but I will next time. Took my 13 year old daughter and her friend. They were both indifferent to the suggestion but left the museum as euphoric as I was. Not to be missed. I can't wait to go back.

My wife and I showed up rather excited to visit the American Museum of Western Art on our short stop in Denver but were turned away at the door for one reason: we were foolish enough to bring our 3-week old son with us! (insert gasp here) As a disclaimer, we know now that children under 8 are prohibited from the museum and we now see that information buried on their site. I have a few things to say about that though. First, we did visit the website before going. We read about entrance fees, hours of operation, current exhibitions and the like. We did not, however, snoop around looking for a prohibition on children because in the dozens of museums we have visited around the world, this is the first time we have ever heard of a ban on children. We didn't look for that information because we have never heard of such a dumb policy. Real art in real museums is treated like a public good to be consumed by all ages. Second, although we understand that these people believe their pencil drawings of conestoga wagons are very unique and special, we have a hard time figuring out what kind of trouble a 3-week old can get into from his stroller. My son can't even lift his head, but watch out all you water colored bison! Finally, and most shocking, was the terrible attitude that greeted us at the door. An elderly gentleman/employee apparently saw us rolling the stroller up to the door because he popped out to stop us before we could intrude and curtly stated, "We don't allow kids." No sorry, or a smile and statement of regret. No explanation or even a "hey, did you get a chance to read that on our website?" Just a straight-faced "get the hell out" by some cantankerous old man at the door. Fine, good riddance!

Tucked in an historic home across from the Brown Palace Hotel, if there is only one museum you have time to visit, this is it! Understanding our country through the lens of spectacular paintings make history of the west come alive. For a slight fee, be sure to request a docent. Our experience was heightened by her knowledge and passion. The history of the physical museum is both fascinating and a testament to the Anschutz family who recognized the need for the building's preservation with the vision to house one of the most important western collections in our country. Kudos!

A true hidden gem in Denver. Small building across from the Brown Palace stuffed full of western art arranged by artist and time period. Only $5 and no over priced gift shop or endless upsales. The included audio tour gives incredible insights. Not a good match for young kids (take them to the close by Denver Art Museum), but teens and above should enjoy it. You leave this museum really feeling like you have learned something new and experienced art. Tip, they keep the front door locked, just knock!

One of my favorite art museums in Colorado, second only to DAM in downtown. There's a wonderful sculpture garden and a massive and well curated selection of art reminiscent of the American West. If recommend it to anyone who has an interest in art. It's also adjacent to Celestial Seasonings!