Continuing the series of exhibitions focusing on collectors and their collections, the Museum is thrilled to be able to present art from the extremely generous recent bequest of Laura Ford. Ms. Ford, a native of Grosse Pointe, Michigan, was a 35-year seasonal resident of Wickenburg. She was an active Board member of Las Damas, the women’s riding club in Wickenburg, and a long-time member of the Museum’s Board of Governors. An accomplished horsewoman, she was the owner of the Arrow-Y Cattle Company,which she ran with her friend Willie Hershkowitz.
In addition to an extensive collection of boots by custom bootmaker Al Reynolds (which she wore routinely) and one of historic spurs, Ms. Ford collected Western art. Her family was a personal friend of artist Olaf Wieghorst and one of the highlights of the exhibition is a large Wieghorst painting of Castle Creek near the Hot Springs. There are over 20 Wieghorst drawings and watercolors, as well as his portrait of Ms. Ford as a child with her horse Buttons.
Other pieces in the collection include six large bronzes by Bill Nebeker and works on paper by Joe Beeler and Nick Eggenhoffer. Several of the Cowgirl Up! artists are part of the collection, including bronzes by Cynthia Rigden and Sherry Salari Sander. While we are saddened by the circumstances of this major addition to the Museum’s holdings, we are pleased to be able to share Ms. Ford’s collection with our visitors.