2018 Annual Report 2018 was a year of change at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West. One of the biggest was with our staff: Eight long- time staff members retired, including CEO Bruce Eldredge after ten years at the helm, and Charles “Chuck” Preston, Founding Curator of the Draper Natural History Museum.

While it is hard to watch old friends move on, new staff bring in fresh ideas and perspectives, a vital resource for any cultural institution. Thanks to Bruce giving us plenty of notice, we were able to do a nationwide search and welcome our new CEO, Peter Seibert, before the end of the year. Peter was most recently the Executive Director of the Education, Research, and Historical Interpretation Division of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation and, prior to that, he directed the Millicent Rogers Museum in Taos, New Mexico.

Our most visible change is the renovation of the Cody Firearms Museum (CFM), a $12.5 million project. The best firearms museum in the country is going to be even better. We celebrate the completed CFM on July 5 - 7, 2019.

Finally, the Center’s Board of Trustees, looking ahead to the conclusion of my second term at the end of 2019, tapped William N. Shiebler of Park City, Utah, to succeed me as Chairman. Bill joined the board in 2011, and his financial acumen has been a great resource as we have met challenges ranging from the poor economy when he first joined, to securing bridge financing for the CFM project.

It is a great honor for me to serve such an amazing institution, being on the receiving end of accolades for all the fine work done by a truly extraordinary staff. I invite you to review some of the activities undertaken last year by one of our national treasures—the Buffalo Bill Center of the West.

Barron G. Collier II Chairman, Board of Trustees

2 | Annual Report 2018 As I read through the various reports of our activities over the last year, I am both impressed and humbled by the outstanding successes of our Board, staff, and volunteers. The Buffalo Bill Center of the West is truly an amazing organization! Our achievements in 2018 reflect so many hours of dedicated work by people who have the common mission to celebrate and share the myriad diverse stories of the American west.

This report is that much more impressive when you realize that everything was accomplished while the Center was undergoing a change in executive leadership. As such, I would be remiss to not acknowledge my predecessor, Bruce Eldredge, whose work and dedication is stamped upon each page of this report. Under Bruce’s leadership, the Center grew in both achievement and reputation. We gratefully acknowledge his service.

The world of museums in 2019 is vastly different than it was ten, twenty, or fifty years ago. The era of the passive visitor experience built around simply viewing an exhibition has transitioned to a time when visitors expect a much more engaging and interactive approach. On the plus side, greater visitor expectations bring new opportunities for museums to be more imaginative and creative in how we share our stories and interpret our collections.

My family and I are delighted to be a part of the wonderful community of Cody, where, literally, it all began. 2019 will be a year of learning for me, as I get to know not just this fabulous institution, but also the trustees, advisors, volunteers, donors, and other supporters of the Center of the West.

I look forward to sharing with you in these pages next year our progress in embracing these challenges as we continue to strive to provide the Center’s visitors an ever more memorable experience of the Spirit of the American West.

Peter S. Seibert Executive Director & CEO

Annual Report 2018 | 3 Hig h lig h ts

Albert Bierstadt: Witness to a Changing West exhibition.

Cody Firearms Museum renovation underway. Charles Preston, PhD, Curator of the Draper Natural History Museum, talks with children during a Science Kids outing.

4 | highlights highlights

Albert Bierstadt: Witness to a Changing West was DEPARTURES an ambitious, and important, exhibition for the Whitney Western Art Museum. Curatorial staff Bruce Eldredge retired in November after ten took a fresh look at this master painter’s workto theyears point as the Center’s Executive Director and CEO. from the perspective of his impact on shaping Bruce oversaw theAbout re-branding the cover: of the Buffalo BY BRUCE ELDREDGE | Executive Director and CEO Famed western artist Frederic Remington (1861 – 1909) painted his last composition American perceptions of both conservation and Bill forHistorical a Winchester Repeating Arms Center Company to today’s calendar in 1894. Three years later, he acquired this striking Winchester Model the place of Native populations in the West. The Buffalo1894 lever-action rifleBill (1.67.335). Center This made of the West, as it a “Remington Winchester,” an unusual juxtaposition of well-known firearms names. exhibition was a massive logistical challenge for wellIt’s picturedas herethe with one reinstallation of Remington’s of the paint palettes, ca. 1905 (1.67.219). Both are our relatively small staff. Aside from securing Buffalogifts of the Coe Foundation.Bill and Whitney Western

©2018 Buffalo Bill Center of the West. Points West loans from several private donors and other Art is museums.published for members and friends of the CenterThe design and start of the West. Written permission is required to copy, reprint, or distribute Points West materials in any medium or format. All photographs in Points West institutions, Center staff had to unpack/pack of constructionare Center of the West photos unless otherwise for the new Cody noted. Direct all questions about image rights and reproduction to [email protected]. the loaned works, perform conservation work FirearmsBibliographies, works cited,Museum and footnotes, etc. also took place are purposely omitted to conserve space. However, such information is available by contacting the editor. Address correspondence to Editor, and reframe some pieces, prepare the exhibit “Now for the next century.” on Bruce’s watch, Pointsand West, Buffalo the Bill Center of Centerthe West, launched the With these words, I concluded this column in the last issue of Points West. 720 Sheridan Avenue, Cody, Wyoming 82414, or Our Centennial year was nearly at an end, and I hinted that we had “significant [email protected]. surprises in store” going forward into 2018. space, and research, write, and produce all videosAnd we have a big one! largest fundraising■ Managing effort Editor | Marguerite in House its history, the New As you turn to page four, you’ll discover a very important announcement: ■ Assistant Editor | Nancy McClure We are renovating our Cody Firearms Museum (CFM)! We are all very excited ■ Designer | Desirée Pettet & Jessica McKibben and signage. Lenders’ requirements stipulatedat the prospect, but none more so thanCentury Firearms Curator Ashley Campaign,Hlebinsky. which wraps up at the end ■ Contributing Staff Photographers | As she explains, “The transformation of the Firearms Museum promises to be extraordinary. The hours and hours of interviews, research, planning, and Kim Zierlein, Charles Preston, Nancy McClure, brainstorming have led us to a stunning design…we’re convinced our plan engages Bonnie Smith increased security during museum hours, of 2019. Very involved■ in the Cody community everyone from the firearms novice to collectors and researchers.” Credits and Permissions | In Ashley’s article that begins on page four, you’ll discover the design and Ann Marie Donoghue content for the “new” CFM. With our “Developments” and news pages, you’ll Points West is published three times a year for specialty hanging hardware, glazing of paintings,find out about the generosity of theduring Timney Triggers organization their who pledged time here, Bruce and his wife, Jan, patrons and friends of the Buffalo Bill Center of the $500,000 toward the CFM reconstruction, leading the charge in the firearms world West. For more information, contact the editor at the as the first substantial industry gift. The donation combines with several federal address above. and protective barriers and/or Plexiglas bonnetsgrants and high-level individual donationshave received somoved far, allowing us to really to shift theThe Seattle Buffalo Bill Center of the Westarea is a private, non- to be close to their into gear on the project. profit, educational institution dedicated to preserving Since the Winchester Collection arrived in 1976, the CFM has obviously been a and interpreting the natural and cultural history of the American West. Founded in 1917, its collections include: on objects, as well as stringent environmentaldestination museum for firearms enthusiasts.young However, onegrandchildren. particularly unique Buffalo Bill and the West he lived and loved, historic feature of the Firearms Museum—now and into the future—is that we also photographs and documents, firearms, natural science have four other museums and a research library focused on the West. This is an of the Greater Yellowstone region, Plains Indians, and unprecedented opportunity to educate and enlighten thousands of non-firearms masterworks of western art. monitoring systems. The professional and enthusiasts, a message that Ashley summarizes this way: “The reimagining of the The mission of Points West is to deliver an engaging, Cody Firearms Museum looks at not only how guns were used, but why they’re educational magazine primarily to our members and friends. Points West uses a multi-disciplinary strategy important to the understanding of our nation’s history.” to connect the reader to the nature and culture of organizational talents of multiple departmentsThe reinstallation project begins Foundingin fall 2018, with the “new” CFM Curatoropening theof American the West, and the Draper Buffalo Bill Center of the Natural History in June 2019. How can you find about our progress? Watch for updates here, on West in particular, through exceptional images and converged to meet the demanding timeline andcenterofthewest.org , and on social media.Museum ■ Charles “Chuck”appealing, reader-friendly stories. Preston, PhD, retired 2 – Buffalo Bill Center of the West |POINTS WEST | Spring 2018 exacting standards of the exhibition. at the end of 2018, after 20 years. Successfully meeting the challenge of overseeing the design Peter S. Seibert succeeded Bruce Eldredge as and construction of a completely new natural Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer history museum, Chuck also initiated field studies of the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in late in the Yellowstone Ecosystem. Golden eagles November. Seibert, most recently the Executive were a particular focus of Chuck’s research. In Director of the Education, Research, and “retirement,” Chuck continues with his field Historical Interpretation Division of the Colonial studies, consult with other natural history Williamsburg Foundation, looks forward to museums, lecture, and write on different aspects creating more experiential opportunities for our of ecology, human-wildlife relationships, and guests while identifying new revenue streams conservation in Greater Yellowstone. He and his using the Center’s collections and historical wife, Penny, will be based at their home in the resources. Ozarks, with summers at their cabin near Cody.

The deinstallation and interior demolition of the Several other long time employees retired in 2018: Cody Firearms Museum began in August and was Connie Miller Schuster (35 years); Gary Miller closely followed by the start of construction. The (30 years); Gina Schneider (22 years); Marguerite new Cody Firearms Museum opens in July 2019 House (19 years); Ann Marie Donoghue (18 years); after a $12.5 million renovation. and Linda Clark (12 years).

highlights | 5 ex h ibitions

Albert Bierstadt: Witness to a Changing West exhibition.

Monarch of the Skies Native Nations Now exhibition. exhibition.

6 | exhibitions exhibitions

Albert Bierstadt: Witness to a Changing West, a joint firearms from the CFM collection on the Center’s project of the Whitney Western Art Museum and Tulsa’s lower level—in the same space that first displayed the Gilcrease Museum, was one of the most important Winchester Collection more than 40 years ago. The exhibitions undertaken by the Whitney in recent years. Center’s other museums each exhibited additional On view at the Center June through September 2018, firearms, illuminating their connection to art, native and at Gilcrease from November 2018 through February history, the story of the Yellowstone region, and, of 2019, the exhibition consisted of 67 objects from 22 course, Buffalo Bill and his Wild West. institutions and eight private collections. Sixteen paintings from the Whitney’s collection were displayed, Edward Curtis’s The North American Indian completed including Bierstadt’s iconic The Last of the Buffalo, which its two-year tour of Wyoming libraries in December. served as the centerpiece of the exhibition. Thirty framed digital reproductions of Curtis’s famous portraits have traveled all over the state, from Sheridan One of the nation’s most significant nineteenth- to Sublette County, in an outreach program conceived century artists, Bierstadt is best known for his western as part of our Centennial in 2017. The feedback was landscapes, creating sweeping vistas and documenting extremely positive, with one librarian sharing that, “We unique features, such as Old Faithful in Yellowstone. also had some patrons who, after viewing the exhibit, Bierstadt also depicted the West’s indigenous cultures checked out books of his work, so we count that as a and wildlife, an aspect of his artistic career which great success.” The McCracken Research Library curated has been largely overlooked. Witness to a Changing the exhibition. West explored in depth Bierstadt’s paintings of Native peoples and the American bison during a time of Letters, documents, and other objects related to George dramatic change in the America West. Armstrong Custer went on display in the Buffalo Bill Museum. The General George and Elizabeth Custer Interpretive aides on view in the exhibition included Exhibition continues into 2020 as the lender provides five short films. These were created using archival additional objects for display rotation. The Center’s photos and other material, historical reenactment, and Conservation Department also has conserved many commentary from the three co-curators (Peter Hassrick paper artifacts in the collection. and Karen McWhorter from the Center of the West, and Laura Fry from Gilcrease), and Oglala Lakota artist and A new permanent exhibition, Monarch of the Skies: The scholar Arthur Amiotte (also a member of the Plains Golden Eagle in Greater Yellowstone and the American Indian Museum Advisory Board). West, opened in the Draper Natural History Museum. Draper staff, led by founding curator Charles Preston, The Plains Indian Museum (PIM) presented Native have worked in conjunction with several non-profit Nations Now: An Exhibition of Contemporary Native organizations and government agencies gathering Art, featuring the work of six Northern Plains artists data on golden eagles in Wyoming's Bighorn Basin and from the Creative Indigenous Collective. The first all- seven other sites across the western United States. The Native contemporary art exhibition at the Center, it was exhibition shares what Draper scientists have learned featured in the Spring 2018 issue of Cowboys and Indians about the diet, distribution, and reproduction of golden magazine, and showed the vitality of today’s Native eagles in the Bighorn Basin over the past ten years, and peoples, an important part of the PIM’s mission. how these factors are intertwined. It also highlights the importance this charismatic predator has in Native With the Cody Firearms Museum (CFM) undergoing a cultures, and incorporates objects from the Plains Indian complete renovation and reinstallation, staff created a Museum. Monarch of the Skies will be updated as more temporary exhibition of some of the most important field research adds to our knowledge.

exhibitions | 7 programs

Programs

ONGOING PROGRAMS NEW PROGRAMS

Skype in the Classroom lessons by Center educators The Education Department created What’s the Story: were seen in 33 countries, including several for Teaching with Objects in Your Classroom to Facilitate Student- the first time: Ecuador, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Centered Learning, a professional development workshop Scotland, Serbia, South Africa, Thailand, Trinidad offered through Skype in the Classroom. The workshop and Tobago, and Vietnam. New video introductions shows teachers how to most effectively incorporate objects and teacher guides have been added to our Skype into their lessons. A new Indian Education for All page on lessons as well. | Visiting artists worked in the the Center’s website contains resources and programs that galleries over the summer. Jeff Rudolph and Michele align with the new Wyoming standards for educating K–12 Farrier demonstrated in the Whitney Western Art students about Native American history and culture. Newly Museum, and Native artists John Hitchcock, Ernest designed teacher guides are available for our guided class Gendron, and Ben Pease demonstrated in the Plains tours, and scavenger hunts now enrich self-guided student Indian Museum. | For the 13th year, St. Labre Indian field trips. School students took part in our two-day immersive museum studies experience. | Six conservation Education also offered ten different camps and interns worked on photographing, conserving, and workshops, with most filled to capacity. New in 2018 were storing more than 500 letters and documents relating a naturalist-led hike into the Sunlight Basin for 8–14 year- to George Armstrong Custer. | Summer programs for olds; a two-day camp combining horseback riding and fly our visitors featured everything from firearm safety fishing lessons; photography, painting, and nature writing to baking biscuits over a campfire. in a three-day program, and a two-day camping trip to the

8 | programs Our traditional cattle drive cooking Jonathan Ferguson, Keeper of demonstration is popular with the Firearms & Artillery at the visitors; biscuits, baked beans, and Royal Armouries in England, skillet apple cobbler can be sampled speaks at the Arsenals of History if your timing is right. Symposium.

Big Horn Mountains led by scientists from the Draper Birdie Real Bird, artist and Plains Indian Museum Natural History Museum where kids surveyed insects, (PIM) Advisor, taught a two-day beadworking class caught birds in mist-nests, and identified plants. for adults. In addition to making a Crow-style beaded cuff bracelet, the 25 participants toured the Funded by Fred and Linda Dowd, the Center initiated PIM galleries to learn about historic beadworking a Youth Advisory Board, created to improve the techniques and patterns. experience and engagement of kids and teens who visit the Center. Comprised of Cody High School students, SYMPOSIA the program also is designed to provide opportunities for learning and growth by the students, with various • The Cody Firearms Museum hosted the second Center staff speaking to the Youth Advisors about Arsenals of History symposium. This year’s theme was careers in museums, and even engaging them directly in ethics, with topics ranging from access to firearms museum work. collections to the role of public collections in the modern gun debate. Once again, professionals from museums Some of the advisors were hired for the summer ranging from the Metropolitan Museum of Art to the to create and implement youth-oriented programs Dutch National Military Museum attended, and we such as a thirty-minute kids’ tour, a wildlife safety released a magazine borne out of last year's symposium. demonstration, and a create-a-tipi activity. One of the • The Whitney Western Art Museum welcomed more students worked on our social media, creating and than one hundred people to a symposium accompanying updating Instagram and Facebook pages aimed at other the Albert Bierstadt: Witness to a Changing students. West exhibition.

programs | 9 sc h olars h ip

scholarship & professional growth

Curatorial staff is expected to contribute to scholarship in workshops as a Certified Interpretive Trainer both at the their discipline, and all staff members are encouraged to Center and for other regional organizations. share their expertise at professional conferences. Here is a selection of staff activities in 2018. Working under a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, The Papers of William F. Cody, in The Whitney Western Art Museum’s Karen McWhorter collaboration with Frank Christianson and the University of completed The Getty Leadership Institute’s NextGen Nebraska-Lincoln, edited and uploaded to Executive Education Program for emerging museum www.CodyArchive.org numerous additional primary leaders. McWhorter contributed to the Albert Bierstadt: resources for scholars of Buffalo Bill. Included are Witness to a Changing West exhibition catalogue, wrote approximately 337 newspaper articles, eight foreign an essay on Charles M. Russell’s When Law Dulls the programs of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West, 22 short biographies, 37 Edge of Chance for the C.M. Russell Museum’s exhibition Annie Oakley articles, and 46 images. The Papers works with catalogue, Return to Calgary: C.M. Russell and the 1919 the University of Oklahoma Press to publish books in the Victory Stampede, and penned the December newsletter William F. Cody series, three of which won awards in 2018. for the Alfred Jacob Miller website, Fur Traders and Rendezvous. Plains Indian Buffalo Cultures: The Art of the Paul Dyck Collection was published by Curator Emerita Emma Hansen Staff from the Education Department presented in 2018, after several years of research by Plains Indian professional development sessions for their colleagues Museum (PIM) staff. PIM curator Rebecca West authored at two different conferences. Megan Smith shared essays for two outside exhibition catalogues, including teaching strategies with attendees of the Montana Warhol and the West at the Tacoma Art Museum, exploring Education Association-Montana Federation of Teachers the quirky connection of pop artist Andy Warhol and his annual conference, and was a panelist for a Wyoming screen-printed image of a historic Crow shield, found in the Libraries Webinar on virtual field trips. Emily Buckles leads collection of the American Museum of Natural History.

10 | scholarship On Page 10: The Plains Indian Museum Powwow is a June tradition. Above: Draper Museum Assistant Curator Corey Anco working in the research lab. Photo by Rebecca Noble, Cody Enterprise.

Ashley Hlebinsky was one of eight museum curators, Draper staff also initiated partnerships with HawkWatch academics, and art experts who shared their perspectives International in Salt Lake City and other researchers to on the study, display, and interpretation of firearms in document wildlife-vehicle collisions in the Bighorn Basin. a roundtable for the journal Technology and Culture. The goal is to identify roadways where wildlife and vehicles Published by Johns Hopkins University Press for the commonly collide and then work with both government Society for the History of Technology in July 2018, this was agencies and wildlife groups to implement mitigation the first time the journal dedicated space to techniques to reduce fatalities for birds and humans alike— this subject. as well as the millions of dollars in property damage caused by the collisions each year. Staff of the Draper Natural History Museum continue to contribute original research and share research results on Chief Conservator and Director of Museum Services Beverly golden eagles through publications, lectures, and scientific Perkins is working with Larry Todd, Professor Emeritus conferences. Assistant Curator Corey Anco began a study at Colorado State University and Research Fellow at the of the museum's extensive collection of Yellowstone gray University of Texas. They are performing geochemical wolf skulls representing post-reintroduction populations. analysis of projectile points from northwest Wyoming Skulls from pre-extirpation populations held in other using the Center’s portable XRF machine. Lithics found museum collections (Smithsonian National Museum to have chemical profiles significantly different from of Natural History, Field Museum of Natural History, most others tested will be sent to a lab for additional American Museum of Natural History) will be studied confirmational testing. Outliers could reveal previously and compared to the reintroduced wolves to address the unknown information about early inhabitants of the area, ongoing debate about the relative size of wolves in the and confirmation of the portable XRF’s data could mean two populations. The study’s results are expected in 2020, that the machine’s results will be accepted on their own in and will be prepared for publication in a peer-reviewed the future. This would save thousands of dollars in analysis journal. costs, ultimately producing more publishable data.

scholarship | 11 quisitions 12 | a 12 2018 acquisition: Alpine Cirque Cirque Alpine acquisition: 2018 GoatsMountain the Draper in Natural History Museum. 2018 acquisition: Floating acquisition: 2018 Sticks, by Scott Fraser. honor Nielson. in of Jim Donated by Anne Young

aquisitions aquisitions

Part of the Center’s mission is to acquire significant photos of his models reveal Bama’s artistic process as objects that help tell the story of the American well as represent an important record of Cody people West, add to the materials available for scholars, and events. and preserve the legacy of the West. Here are some • Firearms records from the Ithaca Gun Company were of the items acquired in 2018. donated by Walter Snyder. Snyder has donated Ithaca records to the McCracken previously, and has promised Whitney Western Art Museum additional installments over time. • An Apotheosis of A. Phimister Proctor, by Frank P. Cody Firearms Museum Fairbanks. Donated by Jon Richards, grandson of the artist. • Henry Rifle, donated by Paul W. Taylor. The gun’s • Floating Sticks, by Scott Fraser. Donated by Anne provenance confirms that it belonged to a soldier in Young. the 4th Michigan Regiment when the troops captured • An untitled portrait by Olive Fell. William E. Weiss Confederate President Jefferson Davis. Memorial Fund purchase. Draper Natural History Museum Buffalo Bill Museum • 44 wildlife specimens were added to the museum’s • Charles King’s Five-Button Undress Blouse (1872). collection, which is one of the premier scientific Museum purchase. King was a good friend of repositories of higher vertebrate specimens in the Buffalo Bill and documented Cody’s fight with Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE). Yellow Hair at the Battle of Warbonnet Creek. He • An herbarium collection of approximately 3,000 also wrote novels about the U.S. military during specimens was donated by the family of Erwin F. Evert. the Plains Indian Wars that significantly shaped Evert collected and curated plant specimens in the GYE public perceptions of the frontier army. for more than 30 years, providing an important reference • Poster, 33.75 x 18.125 inches, with attached handbill for scientists as the environment changes. promoting a performance of “Cody & Carver’s • More than 7,750 video and audio clips were added to Wild West.” Cody performed with Doc Carver for the museum’s Greater Yellowstone Sights and Sounds only a brief period, and this rare poster may be the Archive. The archive documents wildlife behavior and only surviving copy. Museum purchase. landscapes as well as human perceptions and attitudes • Kid Nichols’s Mexican style saddle. Gift of Lyle D. toward nature in the region. Nichols. James C. “Kid” Nichols resided in Cody in the early 1900s and was a friend of Buffalo Bill. Plains Indian Museum • Seven contemporary works by Native American artists McCracken Research Library were acquired with funds from the Bodini Fund. Dyani • Purchases include a daily accounting sheet for the White Hawk, Ben Pease, T.C. Cannon, Robert Martinez, Wild West performance in Sioux City, Iowa; a gold- John Hitchcock, Louis Still Smoking, and John Pepion are embossed pass to the Wild West performances at now represented in the museum’s permanent collection. the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair; and several Cody- • A Lakota pipe bag, pipe bowl, and stem owned by related collections that include letters and photos. William F. Cody was donated by Patricia Jones, a relative • Original work by photographer William Shepley, of the showman. Further research will attempt to purchased from the artist, will be the basis of a identify the original owner and creator, assumed to be a future exhibition titled The Equestrian West. member of Cody’s Wild West. • Cody artist James Bama continues to donate • The estate of Howell Howard donated an inscribed pipe important photos related to his paintings. The tomahawk, circa 1870.

aquisitions | 13 partners awards &

partners

The Buffalo Bill Center of the West works with many partners on research, scholarship, exhibitions, and education. A partial list of our 2018 partners follows:

• Audubon Rockies • Portland Art Museum • Booth Western Art Museum • Shoshone National Forest • Brinton Museum • United States Department of State • C.M. Russell Museum • University of California, Berkeley • Couse-Sharp Historic Site • University of Oklahoma Press • Denver Art Museum • University of Wyoming Archaeological Repository • Frederic Remington Art Museum • Yale University Library • Gilcrease Museum • Yellowstone Art Museum • Golden Eagle Monitoring Network • HawkWatch International • Montana State University, Bozeman • National Museum of Wildlife Art • Norton Museum of Art • Office of Wyoming State Archaeologist • Peabody Essex Museum

14 | partners Winchester Model 71 lever-action rifle, .348 caliber, 1949. 2003.15.16 awards

TripAdvisor awarded the Buffalo Bill Center of the West Short Nonfiction category for his article, “Art, Agency its Certificate of Excellence for the sixth year in a row, and Conservation: A Fresh Look at Albert Bierstadt’s reflecting the Center’s consistently high ratings from Vision of the West,” an excerpt of his Bierstadt catalogue travelers. essay, published in the Montana Historical Society’s Montana the Magazine of Western History. The exhibition True West magazine recognized the Center in four catalogue won the Outstanding Exhibition or Collection categories in its 2018 “Best of the West” awards: Catalogue Award for 2018–2019 from the Midwest Art • Best Western Museum History Society. • Best American Indian Collection, Plains Indian Museum • Best Western Art Gallery, Whitney Western Art Museum Karen B. McWhorter, Scarlett Curator of the Whitney • Best Commemorative Rifle, the Centennial Winchester Western Art Museum, won the 2018 Phillip A. Danielson 1873 Award, First Place for the Best Presentation, conferred by Westerners International for her presentation, “The Art The Western Writers of America (WWA) presented the & Influence of Charlie Russell.” Homesteader Award to the McCracken Research Library for its role in creating the Writers Hall of Fame in the Hunter Old Elk, Curatorial Assistant of the Plains Indian McCracken gallery in collaboration with WWA. Museum, was included in the award-winning photo book Signs of Your Identity, sharing the experiences of Albert Bierstadt: Witness to a Changing West received indigenous people in boarding schools. Hunter also was wide press coverage, including a review in the Wall featured in Pioneers, a book of “men and women who Street Journal. Peter H. Hassrick, Director Emeritus and refuse to stay indoors,” shot by celebrity photographer Senior Scholar at the Center of the West, won a Western Brian Bowen Smith. All proceeds from the book benefit Writers of America Spur Award in the Best Western the National Forest Foundation.

awards | 15 finance

17.97% 34.97% finance & operations

Financial Report | Fiscal year ended December 31, 2017 47.06% Lynn Rodgers, Chief Financial Officer Bruce Sauers, Director of Revenue

2018 Operating Infrastructure Support The Engineered Systems Master Plan was completed in 2018. The (budget basis) Building and Grounds Committee and staff reviewed, prioritized, and presented the plan for Board approval, and the Board committed to Earned funding the highest priority items over the next five years. Projects in revenue 2018 included heating and humidification system improvements and a new roof for the Cody Firearms Museum, replacement of the Plains Donor funding Indians Museum shake roof with a metal roof, upgrading the mezzanine and grants handrail to meet current safety standards, and improvements to our Support from waste removal system. endowment Earned Revenue Earned revenue continues to be a focus, with ongoing efforts to 5.43% improve current revenue streams and explore new opportunities 2.31% consistent with our mission and facility. Highlights for 2018 were catering and gift shop sales.

Expenses Expenses were well-controlled, helped by favorable health insurance claims, as well as deferred hiring for some positions and the reclassification of others.

29.21% Major Capital Projects 63.05% Construction for the complete renovation of the Cody Firearms Museum began in 2018. More than half of the total project budget of $12 million (excluding debt service required to bridge the timing of pledge payments) will be incurred in 2019.

Endowment Generous donors added $2.8 million to the endowment in 2018. 2018 expenses The markets were not as kind, resulting in a loss of $4.3 million, but, (budget basis; excludes fortunately, 2018 losses have been more than offset by gains in early capital projects) 2019.

Personnel Overall, the Center remains in a strong financial position. We are forecasting increased earned revenue in 2019, and expect donor giving Operating to be strong as campaign pledge payments continue, in addition to expenses annual donor contributions. Capital expenditures Please note that the amounts included in this section are unaudited. Programs and The 2018 audited financial statements are expected to be available exhibitions on our website in June 2019 at centerofthewest.org/about-us/annual- reports.

16 | financial Earned Revenue Over Time Endowment Value Over Time 5,000,000 70M 65M 61M 60M 4,000,000 52M 48M 50M 3,000,000 43M 40M

2,000,000 20M

1,000,000 10M

— — 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

4.03% 9.48% Financial Position (in thousands) 2018 2017 Assets 7.01% Cash and cash equivalents 917 3,116 Accounts and interest receivable 430 262 Inventories 1,131 1,730 7.81% 55.94% Prepaid expenses 130 140 Contributions receivable 3,270 4,226 Investments 60,788 64,985 Property and equipment, net 37,236 33,564 15.73% Collections 90,196 88,896 Total Assets 194,071 196,919 2018 Earned Revenues Liabilities and Net AssetS Admissions Store Accounts payable and accrued expenses 986 730 Cafe Notes payable and line of credit 2,473 Catering and special events Net assets 190,612 196,189 Programs, exhibitions, content-related revenue Total Liabilities and Net Assets 194,071 196,919 Other

financial | 17 2018 acquisition: Untitled, by Olive Fell, development purchased with funds from the William E. Weiss Memorial Fund.

18 | development development

Wyoming Governor Matt Mead sent a congratulatory message to the Center’s board of trustees when contributions and pledges to the New Century Campaign surpassed the original campaign goal of $50 million mid-way through 2018. However, with one more year to go, two large expenses were added to the Center's current needs list: increased infrastructure upgrades and the inclusion of the lower level of the Cody Firearms Museum in its renovation. We enter the fourth and final year of the campaign determined to fund current Center priorities and excited about continuing to engage new donors for the future.

Donors large and small are critical to the Buffalo Bill Center of the West. Without their shared passion for the American West, and their ongoing generosity, the Center would not be the cultural gem that it is. To all of them, we say a sincere “Thank you!” And to everyone else, we say “Join us!”

Centennial William C. Garlow Community Foundation of Jackson Hole circle Mr. & Mrs. Walter F. Goodman Jr. Edelweiss Endowment Hunt Consolidated Inc. Dewey & Gigi Corley $100,000 and above S.K. Johnston Family Fund Bill & Mary Anne Dingus Barron G. Collier II Marv & Jane Kaiser The William H. Donner Foundation Geraldine W. & Robert J. Dellenback Patrick & Hilary McDonald Fred & Linda Dowd Foundation Leonard H. McIntosh Foundation Jan & Bruce Eldredge Nancy-Carroll Draper Charitable Carol McMurry & Patrick Spieles Yolanda Evert Foundation Linda Spencer Murchison & Baron & Baroness William Frère Anne & Charles Duncan Reid Murchison Kay Gribble The Duncan Fund National Endowment for the Arts Marguerite DeLany Hark Google Grants Olin Corporation Charitable Trust Hirtle, Callaghan & Co. William Randolph Hearst Foundation Park County Travel Council Wally & Donna Johnson J Bar 9 Ranch Chris & Debbie Paulsen Tom & Pat Jones Paul H. Klingenstein & Kathleen R. Bole K.T. Roes Trust Robert & Michele Keith David & Alexia Leuschen Rusty & Deborah Rokita The Robert S. & Grayce B. Kerr National Endowment for the Humanities Mitch & Alice Rouse Foundation James E. Nielson Family Walter C. Snyder KPMG LLP Jim Nielson & Anne Young Meredith & John Sullivan & The Jeannette & H. Peter Kriendler Jonathan Fairbanks Richards The Homestead Foundation Charitable Trust Sage Creek Ranch Mike & Jane Sullivan Michael J. Lawler Shiebler Family Foundation Gretchen Swanson Family Foundation Carlene Lebous & Harris Haston Naoma Tate & the Family of Hal Tate Mr. & Mrs. A.R. Walje Lefever Arms Collectors Association Paul W. Taylor Ed & Nancy Webster Susan & Rip McIntosh Timney Triggers LLC Lisa & Bill Wirthlin Merit Energy The Tucker Foundation Mrs. J. Maxwell Moran Robert W. Woodruff Foundation National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Scout Circle Mr. & Mrs. Alan J. Olson Spirit of the American $10,000 – $24,999 Nolan A. & Denise O’Neal West Circle Fran & Lenox Baker PEMA Foundation Lenox D. Baker Jr. & Frances W. Baker J.D. & Elizabeth Radakovich $25,000 – $99,999 Foundation Keith & Bobbi Richardson The Anschutz Foundation Rotchford Barker Maggie & Dick Scarlett Dan & Mary Armour The Alexander Bodini Foundation Stephen M. Seay Foundation Dr. Jerry Asher in memory of Barbara Asher R. Harold Burton Foundation Al & Ann Simpson Blank Family Foundation Edwina S. Campbell The Sinclair Companies Paul & Judy Cali Ben & Pat Chapman Mike Strietbeck Cody Country Chamber of Commerce Caryl & Roy Cline Robin and Sandy Stuart Foundation Bill Foxley Bob & Angela Coe Jim & Kathy Taggart

development | 19 development Bill & Robin Weiss Tim White Annie Oakley Circle Wells Fargo Bank Winchester Arms Collectors Association $1,000 – $2,499 Terry & Claudia Winchell – Workforce Development Training Fund Fighting Bear Antiques Chuck & Janet Zundel Franny & Franny Abbott Gordie & Terri Allison Buffalo Bill Circle Pahaska Circle Josh Allison $2,500 – $4,999 Mr. & Mrs. James Bartel $5,000 – $9,999 Basin Mechanical AmericInn Lodge & Suites of Cody Black Hills Energy Margi Bauer Behring Global Educational Foundation Larry L. Brown & Jon G. & Faye O. Belyeu Best Western Premier Ivy Inn & Suites Floann “Fritzie” J. Cole-Brown Ann & Scott Bittner Best Western Sunset Motor Inn Jack & Ann Caldwell Ted & Judie Blair Wiley & Janis Buchanan Rubydee Calvert in memory of Barry Bourdage The Carbine Collectors Club Edward D. Calvert Mr. & Mrs. Stephen F. Brauer Jessica Case Dwight Cleveland Bob & Nancy Tia Brown The Honorable & Mrs. Suzanna W. Cody & Ron Hills Laura L. Bucholz Mike & Kris Burns Richard B. Cheney Henry H.R. “Hank” Coe Donald K. Chaffey Sandy & Sally Church Michael Coleman Edward P. & Hope S. Connors Dr. Charles C. Crowell III & Nicholas Coleman Cowan’s Auctions Ann R. Crowell Laura Collier The Honorable & Mrs. Steven R. Cranfill George & Claudine Dillman Geraldine W. Dellenback CZ-USA Joan C. Donner Duke Energy Renewables Jim & Ginger Dager Sean Duffy Tom & Tania Evans Mr. & Mrs. Edward A. Davis Marilyn B. Dunn Robert Fortner Desperado’s Elfrieda Frank Foundation Alan & Shannon Fouts Mr. & Mrs. John Wesley Dillon The Funger Foundation Lynn & Foster Friess Merle Dodds Mr. & Mrs. Stephen T. Goode Mr. & Mrs. Frank C. Gaetje Mr. & Mrs. James P. Dorr Glenn & Merrily Gumpel Gail Construction Co. Double 4 Foundation Jerry Laine Hager Tony Garro Gloria S. Duffy Mr. & Mrs. Ray Harvey Global Sporting Safaris Inc. Mr. & Mrs. John Dyck J. David & Cynthia L. Hayes GLOCK Inc. Michelle & John Engler Mimi Howard Cynthia Chace Gray Jeanie & Tony Figg C. Sue Jhung John & Virginia Groendyke First Bank Mr. & Mrs. George H. Joest Jr. Carol Hagan First State Bank of Newcastle Harry W. Konkel Kathryn Wilmerding Heminway Mr. & Mrs. Douglas R. Fisk Walter T. Matia Henry Repeating Arms Ivy Garlow Theresa Menefee Mr. & Mrs. William Hiestand Lindsay Garlow Microsoft Tim & Karen Hixon Sally G. Goodman Robert Model Charitable Foundation Deborah Goppert Hofstedt Floyd D. Gottwald Jr. Frederick & Lucy Moreton David & Cynthia Hummel Mr. Harold Graham Lyle Nichols Kelly Jensen Thomas & Elizabeth Grainger Jay Nielson & Karen Schipfmann James D. Julia Auctioneers Michael Greenbaum W. Lawrence & Susan K. Patrick Cynthia Kruger Groathouse Construction Inc. Dick & Jan Pierce Salvatore Laudicina Mr. & Mrs. Robert Grossman Dr. Charles R. Preston George & Betsy Matthews Anne Coe Hayes A. Phimister Proctor Museum Susan & Rip McIntosh Foundation Bill & Karen Hayes The Relgalf Charitable Foundation Ovidiu Muntean Dennis Hejduk & Jane Richardson Mr. & Mrs. Thomas J. Rementer Newport Police Department Gretchen & Barney Henrich Bill & Lynn Rodgers Ron & Sally Ogletree Laura Hogan Mr. & Mrs. Thomas D. Rutherfoord Jr. Marie Pfannkuche Patrick Hogan Safariland Group Mr. & Mrs. Robert Pigott Mr. & Mrs. Richard L. Hollow St. Vincent Healthcare – Cody Family Stephen L. Sanetti Mr. & Mrs. James R. Holmes Medicine Ed & Valerie Spencer Marilyn & Kent Hudson Frederick & Patricia Supper Foundation The Charles A. Weyerhaeuser Memorial Nelson & Deanne Irvine and Cynthia Chace Gray Foundation Grady & Velma Jacobs Hal & Lis Wackman Wyoming Arts Council Mr. & Mrs. Roger Jester Sam & Marshall Webb Y-Tex Corporation Jeremy & Amanda Johnston

20 | development Rob Kassab 2018 acquisition: An Apotheosis Cindy Katz & John Gordnier of A. Phimister Proctor, by Frank P. Teresa & Luther King Fairbanks. Donated by Jon Richards, grandson of the artist. Mat King dba Graceful Woodturnings Joe Kosaveach Jonathan Kuyper Mr. & Mrs. Peter W. Kuyper Mrs. J.R. LaRue Legend Communications of Wyoming Lindauer Fine Art The Liswhit Foundation Josh Loewensteiner – Lion Stone Consulting, LLC Alan V. “Pete” & Melanie M. Lovelace Madden Media Albert C. Mayer Jr. Mr. & Mrs. Michael McCarty Candace Alexander McNair Matthew C. & Leslie O. Molé Patsy Nelson Allan P. Newell Northwest College William & Julie Obering Mr. Jerry W. O’Connell & Mrs. Carolyn J. O’Connell The Ohio Gun Collectors Association P.A.C. Mr. & Mrs. Michael J. Okel Mr. & Mrs. George D. O’Neill Jr. Mr. & Mrs. Jon Oscher Larry Perkins Harold & Amalia Ramser Hap & Susan Ridgway Barbara F. Roach Nancy Roe Rooted on the River Ranch LLC The Cornelia Cogswell Rossi Foundation Ruger Owners and Collectors Society Audrey Sacred Raven Joseph S. Sample Tom & Joan Scott Edwin B. Self Judy Sellers Mr. & Mrs. Donald C. Sherman Shoshone Distributing Company Inc. SIG SAUER Inc. Colin & Deb Simpson Pete & Lynne Simpson Mr. & Mrs. Robert Bland Smith Jr. Robert Staffanson Lynda & Leighton Steward Robert & Thalia Stoddard Fred & Lou Tramutola Scott T. Weber Mr. & Mrs. Ted Storb Bill Umbaugh Dr. & Mrs. William M. Webster Michael & Barbara Stough Union Station Foundation David M. Weddle Stuart Family Foundation Mr. & Mrs. Norman Volk Winchester Repeating Arms Mrs. Thomas Taplin Waddell Gallery Doreen Wise Mr. & Mrs. Bruce B. Taylor Josh Waldrop Peter & Marla Wold Bill & Toni Thomson Mr. & Mrs. William D. Walters Jr. Mark & Heather Yeager Mr. & Mrs. W. James Tozer Jr. Greg & Rebecca Watson Gail D. Zimmerman

development | 21 volunteer leaders volunteer truSteeS & adviSorS (Through December 31, 2018)

*New in 2018 **Resigned in 2018 ***Deceased in 2018

Board of Trustees

h Chairman of the Board – Mr. Barron G. i Collier II p Vice Chair – The Honorable Henry H.R. Coe Vice Chair – Mrs. Margaret Scarlett Treasurer – Mr. Paul V. Cali Secretary – Mrs. Mary Anne Dingus

Mrs. Mary G. Armour Mr. Daniele D. Bodini Mr. John R. Caldwell Ms. Ruby Calvert Vice President Richard B. Cheney The Honorable Steven R. Cranfill Mrs. Ann R. Crowell Mr. George D. Dillman Mrs. Joan C. Donner Mrs. Mary B. Flitner Mr. William C. Foxley Mr. Charles C. Francis** Mrs. Margaret Frère Mr. William C. Garlow** Mr. Thomas P. Grainger Mr. C. Harris Haston Mrs. Deborah Goppert Hofstedt Mr. Ray L. Hunt The Honorable Wallace H. Johnson Mr. Peter W. Kuyper Mr. David M. Leuschen Mr. Patrick R. McDonald Mr. Henry P. McIntosh IV Traveling desk, mahogany, Ms. Carol J. McMurry ca. 1898 – 1905. 1.69.1788 Arthur Middleton, PhD Mrs. Linda Spencer Murchison Mr. James E. Nielson Mr. Jay E. Nielson volunteer leadership Mr. Harold C. Ramser Jr.** Mr. Rusty R. Rokita Mr. William N. Shiebler The Buffalo Bill Center of the West is very fortunate to have more The Honorable Alan K. Simpson than 100 volunteer leaders who contribute their time and talents Colin M. Simpson, Esq. to our museums and programs. Their service is an important part Mr. H. Leighton Steward of our success. Mr. John C. Sullivan The Honorable Michael J. Sullivan Mr. James G. Taggart Mrs. Naoma Tate Mr. Harold E. Wackman Mr. A. Richard Walje**

22 | volunteer leadership Mrs. Rebecca W. Watson* Cody Firearms Museum Mrs. Ann R. Crowell Dr. Samuel B. Webb Jr. Mr. Peter W. Kuyper, Chair Mrs. Deborah Goppert Hofstedt Mr. C. Edward Webster II Gerald E. Asher, DVM Dr. Paul Andrew Hutton Mr. Craig Johnson Mr. William D. Weiss Mr. Rotchford L. Barker Mr. Barry Bourdage* Mr. Daniel D. Johnson** Mrs. Lisa F. Wirthlin Mr. Robert P. Brown The Honorable Wallace H. Johnson Mr. Peter I. Wold Mr. Roy Cline* Mr. Roy Marcot** Mr. Henry H.R. Coe III Dr. Robert S. Martin Chairman's Circle Mr. Robert G. McCubbin Charles C. Crowell, III, MD Mr. Wiley T. Buchanan III Ms. Carol J. McMurry Mr. George D. Dillman Mrs. Ann Chambers Noble Mr. Sean S. Duffy Emeritus Trustees Dr. Donna L. Poulton Mr. Thomas P. Grainger Mr. Charles W. Duncan Jr. Mr. B. Byron Price Ms. Cynthia Chace Gray* Mr. Forrest Fenn Mr. Harold C. Ramser Jr.** Mr. George H. Joest Jr.** Mr. Donald W. Griffin Dr. Robert W. Rydell Mr. Robert Model Mrs. Nancy D. Petry Dr. Peter K. Simpson Mrs. Mary Ann Perkins Mr. Victor J. Riley Jr.*** Mr. C. Edward Webster II Mr. Robert P. Radecki Mr. William B. Ruger Jr.*** Mr. Rusty R. Rokita Emeritus Mr. Forrest Fenn Honorary Trustee Mr. Stephen L. Sanetti Mrs. Marge M. Goppert Ms. Marylou Whitney Dr. Samuel B. Webb Jr. Plains Indian Museum General Advisors Draper Natural History Museum Mrs. Mary G. Armour, Chair Mr. Gordon Allison Mr. H. Leighton Steward, Chair Mr. Arthur Amiotte Mr. Bradley D. Bonner Mrs. Janis A. Buchanan* Mr. John R. Caldwell Mr. Robert D. Coe Mr. Michael F. Chavira* Mr. David L. Ferris Sr. Mr. Jason Cieslak* Mrs. Joan C. Donner Mr. Fred L. Dowd Ms. Adeline C. Fox Mr. W. Richard Scarlett III Mr. Garrett E. Goggles Mrs. Kathryn Heminway Mr. B. Albert Stern Jr.*** Mrs. Merrily Gumpel Mrs. Laura Hogan Mr. S.J. Tilden* Mr. Taylor R.M. Keen Mr. Henry P. McIntosh IV Dr. Billie Jo Kipp Mrs. Nancy L. Roe Ai dv sory Boards Mr. Jay E. Nielson Ms. Christina M. Shiebler Mr. Larry Patrick Buffalo Bill Museum Mr. Whitney C. Tilt Mr. Harold C. Ramser Jr.** Mrs. Naoma Tate, Chair Dr. Lawrence C. Todd Jr. Ms. Birdie Real Bird Mr. Harold E. Wackman Dr. Suzanna W. Cody Mr. Rusty R. Rokita** Mr. A. Richard Walje** Mr. Mitch Rouse The Honorable Henry H.R. Coe Jr. Mrs. Rebecca W. Watson Mr. Gordon Dee Smith Mrs. Michelle A. Delaney D. Tim White, PhD Mrs. Mary Anne Dingus Whitney Western Art Museum Ms. Marilyn B. Dunn Emeritus Mrs. Margaret Scarlett, Chair Mr. Victor J. Riley Jr.*** Mrs. Mary B. Flitner Mrs. Laura Proctor Ames Mr. Charles C. Francis** Education & Interpretation Ms. Laura Collier Mr. Victor R. Gaines Ms. Ruby Calvert, Chair Mr. William C. Foxley Mrs. Margaret Frère Ms. Ivy M. Garlow Frances W. Baker, MD Ms. Sue Simpson Gallagher Mr. David E. Behring Mr. William C. Garlow Mr. Frank H. Goodyear Jr. Mr. Rob Black* Ms. Sally G. Goodman Mr. David M. Hummel Jr. Mrs. Nancy Tia Brown Mrs. Cynthia L. Hayes Ms. Carlene M. Lebous Ms. Jessica Case Mr. Marvin L. Kaiser Mr. Patrick R. McDonald Ms. Lindsay J. Garlow Mr. Alan V. Lovelace Jr. Ms. Michelle M. Sullivan Mr. James Kapptie Mrs. Candace Alexander McNair** Mr. James G. Taggart Mr. Scott E. Kitchen* Mr. William D. Weiss Mr. Nicholas B. Paffett Mrs. Linda Spencer Murchison Mrs. Lisa F. Wirthlin Colin M. Simpson, Esq. Mrs. Janet Pierce Ms. Anne Young Mr. Bruce Thomson Mrs. Elizabeth M. Radakovich Mrs. Margot M. Wilkinson Mr. William N. Shiebler Emeritus Mr. Phimister Proctor Church Mr. Mark A. Yeager McCracken Research Library Dr. Carol C. Clark Emeritus Mrs. Carol McMurray, Chair Mr. Leverett S. Miller Mr. Walter F. Goodman Jr. Mr. Peter E. Cozzens* Mrs. Nicholas R. Petry

volunteer leadership | 23 Feather dance bustle, ca. 1987. 720 Sheridan Avenue, Cody, WY 82414 | 307–587–4771 | centerofthewest.org Sioux, Canada. NA.203.795.