Amon Carter Museum of American Art
The front galleries of the Amon Carter Museum of American Art on opening day, Jan. 21, 1961.
It was snowing the day the Amon Carter Museum of American Art (then-called the Amon Carter Museum of Western Art) opened for the first time in Fort Worth on Jan. 21, 1961.
According to the Carter, the museum saw 337 people sign the guestbook that day, all hoping for a chance to see the nearly 100 works on display. Much of the collection, which included pieces by Frederic Remington and Charles M. Russell, had come from the extensive personal holdings of the museum's namesake, Fort Worth Star-Telegram founding publisher Amon G. Carter Sr. His children, Amon G. Carter Jr. and Ruth Carter Stevenson, established the museum in his honor.
According to the Texas State Historical Association, the Carter Museum had a particularly Western slant at the time — or, as founding director Mitchell A. Wilder called it, "westering," a term coined by historian Bernard DeVoto referring to America's movement toward the west during the 19th century. Years later, however, the museum decided to broaden its scope, and in 1977, the museum dropped "of Western Art" from its name, eventually adding "of American Art" in 2010.
In 2021, the Carter's collection now includes more than 53,000 works of art, from paintings and sculpture to works on paper and photography. The museum is currently gearing up for a full slate of 60th anniversary programming, from the first comprehensive survey of the work of Vietnamese-American photographer An-My Lê to a retrospective of Fort Worth artists (and twin brothers) Scott and Stuart Gentling.
The full schedule of exhibitions is available here.
Take a walk through the Carter Museum's history in the slideshow below.
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Amon Carter Museum of American Art
Aerial image of Fort Worth’s Cultural District prior to construction of the Amon Carter Museum of American Art, 1959.
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Construction of the Amon Carter Museum of American Art in progress, 1960.
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Amon Carter Museum of American Art grand opening with Ruth Carter Stevenson, 1961.
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Ruth Carter Stevenson in the mezzanine of the Amon Carter Museum of American Art, overlooking the front entrance of the museum, 1961.
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Ruth Carter Stevenson sitting on the newly installed Upright Motive sculptures by Henry Moore, at the Amon Carter Museum of American Art, 1963.
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Ruth Carter Stevenson with President Lyndon B. Johnson and Lady Bird Johnson at the Amon Carter Museum of American Art, 1969.
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Visitors enjoy festive balloons at the Carter’s 25th anniversary celebration, 1986.
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Steven Watson
Susie Green, Mimi Clemons, and Circle member Rose Ann Cranz with actor Owen Wilson at the opening of his mother's exhibition, Laura Wilson: That Day, 2015.
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The Amon Carter Museum of American Art in 2020.
