Rockwell Museum of Western Art

The Rockwell Museum of Western Art occupies a landmark building in downtown Corning — the old City Hall, built in 1893 — and houses an extensive collection of paintings and sculptures dedicated to the American West. The collection centres on works by Frederic Remington and Charles Russell, the two most celebrated artists of the cowboy-and-frontier genre, with additional works by Albert Bierstadt, Thomas Moran, and other 19th-century painters who shaped the popular image of the West.

The Native American art collection is particularly strong, with pottery, beadwork, and textiles from multiple nations that complement the Euro-American paintings in a way that gives a fuller picture of the West than the paintings alone would suggest. The museum is a Smithsonian affiliate, which reflects the seriousness of the collection.

The building is rarely crowded, and the atmosphere is notably more relaxed than the nearby Corning Museum of Glass. Allow two hours. The museum is within easy walking distance of Market Street and the Glass Museum.

Address: 111 Cedar St, Corning, NY 14830. Hours: Daily 9am–5pm. Phone: 607-937-5386. Web: rockwellmuseum.org

things to do sight museum
A story
The Rockwell Museum was founded by Robert F. Rockwell Jr. — no relation to Norman Rockwell — a Corning department store owner who spent decades collecting paintings and bronzes depicting the American West. The collection he assembled is now considered one of the finest of its kind outside of major institutions in the West itself, with works by Frederic Remington, Charles Russell, and Albert Bierstadt that represent the full range of the 19th-century romantic vision of the frontier.