Blog

If you see someone taking a mallet and chisel to the Ponderosa Pine Saddle Bench in the Christine & Ted Mollring Sculpture Courtyard at Western Spirit, never fear. What you are seeing is the artist, carver David Armstrong, taking care of some wood rot that...

One of the most important writers of the 20th century—or any century—British novelist Virginia Woolf once wrote that, “For most of history, Anonymous was a woman,” referring to the overwhelming number of books, paintings, musical compositions, artworks, textiles,...

Dr. James Burns, Executive Director, is pleased to announce the addition of Dr. Michael Zirulnik as Development Director for the museum. In his new role, which began on February 2nd, Dr. Zirulnik will be responsible for engaging locally, regionally, and across the...

Here’s the truth: if Charlie Russell hadn’t married Nancy Cooper, he would not have become the Russell we know as one of the most important, prized, and beloved painters and sculptors of the rapidly changing West. Had he remained a bachelor—like the lone wolf in some...

Howard Calvert is a former Scottsdale Unified School District Elementary Teacher, teaching for over 30 years. He has been a docent at Western Spirit since the museum's first year, starting in February of 2015. Howard engages and educates our visitor public with great...

Belle da Costa Greene and Edward Curtis’sThe North American Indian J.P. Morgan may have funded Edward Curtis’s multi-decade ethnographic project, The North American Indian, but he might never have heard of Curtis or his dream have if Curtis hadn’t made it past...

The Foodways of Native Peoplesin the Photographs of Edward CurtisAs part of Western Week, and in conjunction with The Arizona Native Edible Experience that was held at Western Spirit on Saturday, February 5th, visitors to the museum were able to experience a wealth of...