A.R. MITCHELL MUSEUM OF WESTERN ART

This collection couldn’t exist without the artwork of A.R. Mitchell, and moreover, the wonderfully cooperative and collaborative folks at the museum, so we want to show it a little love!

“Anyone who knows me knows I love a museum,” Cheryl said. “I love learning, I love peeking into the past, I love the feel of being totally immersed in something the way a museum allows you to be. I got so much joy out of spending the day at the A.R. Mitchell museum, I left so inspired. First of all, the building is fabulous – it’s an old department store, and it has this ornate ceiling and columns and this huge wrap-around balcony – and then the artwork itself is very nostalgic for me, and the sheer scope of it all is remarkable – he kept EVERYTHING!”

The A.R. Mitchell Museum of Western art is nestled snugly at 150 E Main Street in Trinidad, Colorado. You’d think the tiny town of less than 10,000 people would be an unlikely place to host the life’s work of perhaps the most prolific pulp novel artist in American history, but you’d be wrong – according to his sister, Tot, Trinidad was the only place it felt right, bringing his work right back where they grew up.

The museum initially opened in 1981, established by A.R.’s sister to showcase his expansive collection of artwork after his passing in 1977. A decade later, it moved to its current home, a historic 44,000-square-foot building erected in 1906 that formerly housed Jameison Dry Goods Store. The beautiful building has unique antique charm, an innately Western vibe, and an aesthetic that feels particularly perfect for the artwork it hosts. As the museum’s executive director, Allyson Shuemaker, put it, "The building is really part of the collection. Our display cases, furniture, and hardwood floors are all from the old store."

Of course, the museum displays a vast number of A.R. Mitchell’s original oil-on-canvas paintings, approximately 350 in fact, but it is also home to some of the works of his contemporaries Harvey Dunn and Harold Von Schmidt, as well as A.R.’s personal collection of memorabilia and Native American pottery. It also displays a remarkable collection of historic Hispanic folk art tied back to Penitente Brotherhood. In addition to its permanent exhibits, the museum routinely showcases and highlights the work of contemporary artists, and hosts artist lectures and other events that invite engagement from the community.

The museum is a non-profit that is primarily funded by donors and sponsoring businesses (including Double D Ranch!), and dear friend of the brand, Christine Louden, serves on the Board of Directors. It’s clear that the town was important to the Mitchells, and in turn, the museum is important to the town, which ardently seeks to protect and preserve the museum as well as the legacy of their own little hometown hero.