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.