Help Preserve the Spirit of the American West
Mindy A. Besaw
The John S. Bugas Curator of the Whitney Gallery of Western Art
Mindy A. Besaw joined the staff of the Buffalo Bill Historical Center as the John S. Bugas Curator of the Whitney Gallery of Western Art in 2007. Since then, she spearheaded the new installation of the Whitney Gallery of Western Art for its fiftieth anniversary in 2009. Ms. Besaw came to the Whitney from the Denver Art Museum, where she was Curatorial Associate at the Institute of Western American Art. While there, she served on a building-wide team that planned the re-installation of the permanent collection galleries in the new wing of the Museum which opened in 2006. Among other responsibilities at the Denver Art Museum, she also coordinated the exhibitions Frederic Remington: The Color of Night; West Point/Points West: A Celebration of Western Expeditionary Art; and The Harmsen Collection: A Colorado Legacy.
Besaw brings eight years of museum experience to the Whitney Gallery. She is currently writing her dissertation to compete a PhD in American Art History from the University of Kansas. She earned her MA in Art History at the University of Denver where she focused on museum studies and her BFA in Art History at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. In addition to museum experience, Besaw was Adjunct Instructor in Art History at the University of Colorado, Denver for four years.
With a background in contemporary art as well as art of the West, Besaw's special interest is to connect contemporary western art with its historical counterpart.
Areas of Responsibility/Expertise
- Whitney Gallery of Western Art collection and interpretations
- Frederic Remington Catalogue Raisonné and Examination Process
- Contemporary western American art
- General western American art inquiries
- Fine art special exhibitions
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W.H.D. Koerner (1878 – 1938). Madonna of the Prairie, 1921. Oil on canvas, 37 x 28.75 x 43.5 inches. 25.77
The collections of the Whitney Gallery of Western Art present a panorama of art about the American West.