The Museum of Western Art holds a focused, high-quality collection of paintings and sculptures depicting the American West — cowboys, Native Americans, landscapes, working ranches, and the mythology of the frontier. The tradition it celebrates runs from Frederic Remington and Charles Russell through to contemporary artists working in the same vein, and the collection makes a genuine case that this is a coherent and serious artistic tradition rather than mere nostalgia.
The building itself is well-designed for the work — good natural light, spacious galleries, and a setting on the edge of town with views toward the hills. Rotating exhibitions supplement the permanent collection. It is not a large museum, but it is more substantive than you might expect from a city of this size, and worth an hour or two if you have any interest in American history or Western painting.