American Museum of Western Art - The Anschutz Collection image

American Museum of Western Art - The Anschutz Collection

Tourist attraction Museum Art museum

Historic structure showcasing paintings of the American West from the early 1800s to the present. People often mention collection, museum, paintings, tour, American, West, building, western, floor, audio,


Address

1727 Tremont Pl, Denver, CO 80202

Website

www.anschutzcollection.org

Contact

(303) 293-2000

Rating on Google Maps

4.60 (185 reviews)

Open on Google Maps

Working Hours

  • Monday: 10 AM to 4:30 PM
  • Tuesday: Closed
  • Wednesday: 10 AM to 4:30 PM
  • Thursday: Closed
  • Friday: 10 AM to 4:30 PM
  • Saturday: Closed
  • Sunday: Closed

Featured Reviews


Frequently mentioned in reviews: collection (20) museum (17) paintings (14) tour (10) American (10) West (10) building (9) western (7) floor (7) audio (7)
Reviews are sorted by relevance, prioritizing the most helpful and insightful feedback at the top for easier reference.
  • 5/5 Josh P. 2 years ago on Google • 700 reviews
    Jam packed with incredible paintings! There is no photography allowed inside. Admission fee was very affordable, and an absolute steal for a chance to see this talent :)
    3 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 4/5 Jamie J. 9 months ago on Google • 37 reviews
    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!
    3 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 4/5 Narek D. 1 year ago on Google
    Pros: beautiful paintings, detailed audioguide, and only $5 entrance. Cons: they force their floor attendants to monitor your every move, even radioing each other when you go between floors, and the horrible white lamps that reflect straight off the paintings and make it a struggle to actually see details in the works.
    3 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Jack B. 7 months ago on Google • 62 reviews
    I've wanted to go to this museum for many years and finally got the chance to go for a couple of hours. It was so worth the wait. Very much a hidden gem in Denver, this gallery blew me away. You can get up close and personal with the greatest artists of the American West, including my favorite: Albert Bierstadt. They provide a free audio guide that's pretty good and takes about an hour if you listen without pause. The first floor gallery is in Salon Style, which is unique and quite fitting. No pictures allowed, but you will hopefully be so engrossed you won't consider taking your phone out.
    2 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Selma J. 1 year ago on Google
    The American Museum of Western Art – The Anschutz Collection is a non-profit museum located in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 2010, it is the permanent home for The Anschutz Collection, a formerly private collection of paintings that surveys the art of the American West from the early 19th century to the present. The Anschutz Collection is a permanent collection of over 600 art pieces including paintings, sculptures, and drawings and is the museum’s main attraction. It represents more than 180 artists from the American West and is the result of businessman Philip Anschutz. Anschutz had a love of American art, which he and his family spent decades growing into a formidable private collection. Anschutz bought the museum’s Navarre building in the 1990s with the intention of housing his artwork there. After undergoing several renovations that restored the building to its Victorian glory, the collection moved in and has since remained.
    2 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 4/5 C L. 1 year ago on Google
    Impressive collection of Western art but the audio narrative romanticized the 'discovery' of the West (completely ignoring that native people lived there for thousands of years) and ignores the fact that whites were more often the aggressors pushing into new territory and natives were trying to protect what they had. So much of the art portrays native Americans negatively.
    2 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 David C. 4 years ago on Google • 150 reviews
    Thanks to the Anschutz family for making such a magnificent collection available for public viewing. In addition to their value as fine art, the paintings—mostly oils—have historic importance as depictions of life in the West prior to photographs or when photography was still in its infancy. Just a couple of drawbacks: The building, though charming, is too small for the collection, so that the paintings are crammed literally from floor-to-ceiling. This makes it hard to get a good view of paintings that are too high or too low. Moreover, the lighting relies mostly on traditional spotlights that create shiny bright spots on some of the works, especially those near the ceiling. Nevertheless, a memorable and worthwhile experience!
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Maddie D. 9 months ago on Google • 11 reviews
    I’m completely confused as to how anyone could leave anything but a five star review for this museum. It is jam packed with stunning art that really captures the history and essence of the West. Admission is only $5!! I highly recommend all visitors and locals check this incredible museum out. If you like looking at art or reading about history, you should consider paying this place a visit. I loved it.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Dan P. 1 year ago on Google
    Great selection of works showcasing Western Art as well as the traditional Victorian decor historic to the building. I thoroughly enjoyed this tour, the audio tour took me about an hour and a half.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 3/5 A Google U. 1 year ago on Google
    Found ourselves in Denver for 2 days at the end of a vacation and this place was near our hotel so decided to check it out. First the good: charming building! Some nice pieces throughout with some important art movements represented The big criticism: over 300 paintings and 180 artists represented and I counted ONE painting by a non-European American artist (a portrait by mixed race artist Fritz Scholder, tucked away in a corner on the top floor.) This is a museum of almost all white dudes. Of course a museum can’t be everything, but I kept wanting the various perspectives of the idea of West that the museum purports to present, especially a museum that pays heed (or perhaps just lip-service) to the ancestral lands of the Ute, Cheyenne, and Arapahoe peoples in their promotional materials. So instead of using a Kim Wiggins painting called “Merging of cultures” (not a great painting, sorry) to represent the contributions of non-European peoples on southwest culture, why not find exciting indigenous artists from those regions to capture the richness of that contribution? We can do better! This doesn’t require a complete overhaul; how much more rich an experience it would be if a 19th century East coast European depiction of an Apache chief was shown alongside an artwork from an Apache artist from the same time? Or at the very least, reserve a section of the third floor for the really exciting western Native American artists finally being given overdue recognition today. I’m talking maybe 10-20 pieces to at least acknowledge that our artistic understanding of West expands beyond the exclusively European-derived one. One hopes that a small fraction of the Anchutz billions will help bring better balance to this promising space. By the way: one of the collection’s coolest paintings, a large church facade by Harold Joe Waldron, hides in the top floor stairwell…check it out!
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Lynn W. 9 months ago on Google
    I didn’t know this existed until my mom asked me to take here here for a docent tour. It’s fantastic! The art, building, and staff are all so lovely. I’m definitely going back to linger longer!
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 3/5 Irma Z. 4 years ago on Google
    Great docent-led tour but no photos allowed. Some great artists in the collection but I realized I’m not a fan of “salon-style” installations. I would prefer a different style of curation.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Scott L. 5 months ago on Google • 237 reviews
    Hidden gem in old downtown Denver! Fantastic collection of American art. Stop next door at the Brown Palace Hotel while you're there!

  • 5/5 Whole C. 8 months ago on Google • 115 reviews
    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.

  • 1/5 Lauren F. 1 month ago on Google • 78 reviews New
    Museum is open only 3 days a week, there's no parking, and they wouldn't allow my husband with our 3 month old baby in a baby carrier in because of 'no children'. Seems like they don't want visitors!

  • 3/5 L R. 1 year ago on Google • 25 reviews
    The overhead lights made such a harsh glare over the artwork! Several paintings were too small and mounted too high, therefore impossible to see! My tour guide was very knowledgeable, but I didn’t like being intensely watched by staff the entire time! They were spying on us from the upper floors, and staring at us from across the room! NO iPhone pictures allowed! I still enjoyed seeing artwork of the old west! There were a lot of gorgeous and lively pieces that inspired me in my own art endeavors. Good price to get inside! Nice elevator to use between floors!

  • 5/5 Cindy S. 4 months ago on Google • 25 reviews
    What a fantastic small museum with beautifully displayed! We had lunch at La Loma next door and saw the sign before we walked in. We had to check it out and we so not disappointed ! The staff were kind and helpful, the $5 entrance fee was reasonable and the art displays were wonderful! Take some time whenever I’m downtown Denver and check it out! You will be enchanted by your visit! Enjoy!

  • 5/5 Martyn B. 2 months ago on Google • 20 reviews New
    I'm not an art lover but we enjoyed a couple of hours trawling through American history.. through art. Well worth a visit but check opening times before you go. Cost $5 each which is unusual for the US but still worth it.

  • 5/5 Linda B. 11 months ago on Google
    Do the guided tour - really fascinating information! Great art, both 19th and 20th century, as well as a smattering of 21st century. In a gorgeous building across the street from the Brown Palace hotel, where you should do high tea

  • 5/5 Rose B. 1 year ago on Google
    This museum has a beautiful collection of art pieces. If you’re a fan of the American West, then you would thoroughly enjoy a visit to this location.

  • 5/5 Dave J. 1 year ago on Google
    Really cool little museum with LOTS of paintings. Museum packs a lot of punch for its size and the architecture of the building is neat, too.

  • 5/5 Jerry & Lynne Goebeler (. 1 year ago on Google
    Excellent collection and experience. Truly a gift at $5 per person, including the audio tour!

  • 5/5 Ovidiu S. 9 months ago on Google
    Great introduction to western art; the guided tour is definitely the best and takes a little over 1 hour. Loved the delivery, the interaction of the guide and the overall appreciation gained.

  • 5/5 Eliot M. 8 months ago on Google
    An absolute gem of a place. Hundreds of great western paintings with an audio guide for $5. I can hardly think of a better way to spend two hours.

  • 5/5 Tim W. 1 year ago on Google
    Wife & went there random Weds morning while on vacation and both loved it. They do guided or audio tours, guided tour was excellent and made the art much more interesting.

  • 5/5 Jeff & Diana D. 1 year ago on Google
    A great museum featuring Western art! We loved everything - starting with the gorgeous hiatoric building, the layout of the museum, and the great collection of some of the finest western art. Highly recommend it for anyone interested in western art

  • 2/5 Richard T. 1 month ago on Google • 4 reviews New
    A throwback to the bad old days of museums. Small, interesting collection hidden behind restrictive open hours, arbitrary closures and - as others have noted - obstructive staff who seem to think that their role is to deny access. Avoid.

  • 5/5 David H. 1 year ago on Google
    The 2nd floor took me an 1.5 hours to get through because of the amazing collection. I was moved by the stories these paintings told. The museum attendant answered my many questions and enriched the experience.


Call (303) 293-2000 Open on Google Maps

Amenities


  • Accessibility
    • ✓️ Wheelchair accessible entrance
    • ✓️ Wheelchair accessible restroom
    • ✓️ Wheelchair accessible parking lot

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