Located in the heart of Fort Worth''s cultural district, the Amon Carter Museum is a treasure trove of American art. It was designed by well-known architect Philip Johnson, famous for his Glass House in Connectictut, and it was recently renovated. Originally established through a grant from philanthropist Amon Carter, the museum''s permanent exhibit revolves around work by Frederic Remington, whose painting and sculptures depict the Old West. In fact, we chose to visit the Carter Museum because a friend called the place a "cowboy museum" -- not surprisingly, our son thought this sounded much more interesting than the lily-pad-and-flower paintings he''s used to seeing in most art venues.
The admission to the Carter is free, but I highly recommend spending the money to rent an audio guide ($4/adult, $2/child). Many of the paintings in the permanent exhibit are numbered and, when you punch the individual number into your audio guide, you''ll hear more background on the artist and the work. Many of the narrations are also geared towards children, with the narrator weaving a story to capture a child''s imagination -- this feature can make an art museum a million times more interesting to a kid.
My son and I stood in front of Remington''s painting, A Dash for the Timber, as we listened to the narration. The painting depicts cowboys galloping, as hard as they can, away from distant Indians. This Western adventure scene has all sorts of story possibilities, but we were most fascinated by the black horse in the painting -- no matter where you stand in the room, the black horse seems as if it''s running right towards you, its fiery eyes following your every step as it sets its course.
After listening to the description of a different painting, this one by Seth Eastman, we learned a piece of interesting trivia: North American Indians essentially invented the game of lacrosse as a way to prepare warriors for the hunt! Who knew?!
It was also great fun for my son to discover the cow skull that Charles Russell included next to his signature on all of his paintings.
In addition to the permanent exhibits, the Carter hosts visiting exhibits from noted American painters and photographers.
Museum Hours: Tues, Wed, Fri, Sat 10am-5pm; Thurs 10am-8pm; Sun noon-5pm. Closed Mondays. Closes early on holidays.