PPHM Exhibits and Events
SPIRITUAL PLACES Harrington Changing Gallery
Continuing through January 9, 2012 Throughout history artists have sought to depict places of spirituality. In this exhibition drawn from the Museum’s permanent collection, works of art portraying these type places will be drawn together. From sites of prehistoric American pictographs and petroglyphs, to sacred American Indian locations, to Christian churches in New Mexico, all are spiritual places.
MADE TO FIT: AMARILLO LITTLE THEATRE AND THE TEXAS PANHANDLE Furniture Gallery
Continuing through January 22, 2012 A collaborative effort between PPHM and the Amarillo Little Theater, the museum highlights costumes from one of the longest running community theaters in the nation. The stars of the exhibit will be a selection of costumes from some of The Amarillo Little Theatre’s most successful productions including “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas,” “Beehive: The 60’s Musical,” and “The Producers.” Most of the costumes featured were made by the hands of local people and worn by local performers.
THE LITTLEFIELD MURALS Foran Galleries
Continuing through February 20, 2012 In 1910, cattleman George W. Littlefield commissioned Chicago—and future Taos--artist E. Martin Hennings to paint six (6) murals of his ranches on the South Plains and New Mexico for the lobby of the American National Bank in the Littlefield Building in downtown Austin, Texas. When the bank and its assets sold in 1954, three (3) of the six murals were acquired privately. These three murals will be seen publicly for the first time in over 55 years when they are unveiled at PPHM along with related photographs and ephemera. In an adjacent gallery, the Museum will present “Public Art in the Southwest,” drawn almost exclusively from PPHM’s extensive holdings of mural studies, sketches, and sculpture maquettes. Sponsored by: Katherine E. Albritton, Lillian W. Albritton and Alexander H. Albritton
PUBLIC ART ACROSS THE LONE STAR STATE Foran Galleries
Continuing through February 20, 2012 Drawn exclusively from the museum's holdings, the exhibit will contain mual studies, sketches, sculpture maquettes and more from Texas public art.
TRY!: RODEO ON THE SOUTHERN PLAINS Mary E. Bivins Gallery
Continuing through September 9, 2012 Unlike most sports, rodeo was not created as a show or made for competition. Rather, rodeo was born on ranches across the Americas, and originally taken from the Spanish word meaning “to round up.” Daily cowboy chores like riding, roping, and cow-throwing, became events in the sport we call rodeo. Cowboys competed against other cowboys on the same ranch for bragging rights in who was the best and the quickest at particular “chores.” Cowboys especially good at breaking horses became professional “bronc fighters,” hiring out to different ranches. Later, top hands competed against top hands from other ranches in local fairs, which evolved into the phenomenon that we call rodeo today. The same grit and determination—the “try”-- that made cowboys icons of American history also makes rodeo competitors world-class athletes today. This exhibition looks at the beginnings of rodeo on the southern Plains to the massive performances of today.
FROCKS AND TOGS: CHILDREN'S TEXTILES Textile Gallery
Continuing through November 30, 2012 The clothing we wore as children shaped us in many ways, from being dressed in clothes that our parents thought looked “cute”, to being able to dress ourselves and finally, to finding that outfit that made us feel special. PPHM will explore children’s clothing from the first half of the past century and look at influences on children’s clothes over the years. For example, the British royal family was largely responsible for boys in Europe and America wearing sailor suits; changes in child rearing, marketing and manufacturing led to mass produced children’s clothes; and the movies, radio and television contributed to trends in children’s fashions.
CONSERVATION BEFORE CRMWA: DAM PLANS FOR THE CANADIAN RIVER, 1914-1945 Hazlewood Lecture Hall
Saturday, January 21, 2012 10:00 am Sponsored by the Goodnight Circle Lecture Series.
Lecture by Margaret Bickers. Conservation, for early Anglo residents of the Canadian River watershed, meant tapping all available waters and putting them to the best use for the most people over the longest time possible. Three “generations” of conservationists worked to find ways to tap the “wasted” waters of the region’s largest stream, in the process creating other conservation and recreation areas and laying the foundation for the creation of the Canadian River Municipal Water Authority.
CONESTOGAS, CATTLE AND CACTI: WESTERN FURNISHINGS FROM THE PERMANENT COLLECTION Furniture Gallery
February 4—September 3, 2012 The exhibit will provide a sampling of the types of furnishings and decorative art people from this region sat on, slept in, hung on their walls and placed on shelves, mantels and pedestals since 1876. Some objects included are recent acquisitions and have never been exhibited by PPHM.
ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER DOLLAR: THE LEGACY OF THE CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORPS IN PALO DURO CANYON Harrington Changing Gallery
February 12—October 14, 2012 On March 31, 1933, the unemployment relief measure known as the Emergency Conservation Act was passed and the most popular of all New Deal programs, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), was born. Standard pay for a CCC member was $1 per day, and $25 of the $30 they were paid each month was sent home. Depicting the lifestyle of these men, the exhibit will include a rock cabin façade with a window where visitors can peer inside one of the Cow Camp Cabins; the side of a WWI barracks with a window to see what the interior of the barracks would have looked like; a tool shed to illustrate the tools used; and a wooden framed tent, which will be used as a theater to show a 30s documentary on Texas State Parks.
CCC FORUM: THE CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORPS IN THE TEXAS PANHANDLE Hazlewood Lecture Hall
Saturday, February 18, 2012 3:00-5:00 pm Sponsored by the Goodnight Lecture Series.
The symposium will complement the opening of our CCC exhibit, “Another Day, Another Dollar: The Legacy of the Civilian Conservation Corps in the Texas Panhandle.” The panel, consisting of local researchers and historians, along with the CCC coordinator from Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and the executive director of the National New Deal Preservation Association, will discuss the historical and environmental legacy of the CCC projects within the Texas Panhandle. RSVP to Elaina at (806) 651-2258 or ecunningham@pphm.wtamu.edu by February 16.
CCC EXHIBIT RECEPTION Derrick Room
Saturday, February 18, 2012 5:30-7:00 pm Another Day, Another Dollar opening reception and gallery walk for Forum attendees and PPHM members. RSVP to Elaina at (806) 651-2258 or ecunningham@pphm.wtamu.edu by February 16.
PANHANDLE PLAINS INVITATIONAL WESTERN ART SHOW AND SALE ARTISTS RECEPTION Foran Galleries
Saturday, March 3, 2012 5:30 artists’ reception 6:00 sale Museum-quality art you can own! Get first chance at the amazing works with an RSVP to Elaina by February 29. Works unsold will be available for purchase until the end of the exhibition.
PANHANDLE PLAINS INVITATIONAL WESTERN ART SHOW AND SALE Foran Galleries
March 3, 2012—March 24, 2012 Sponsored by the Friends of Southwestern Art.
This event provides the only museum-quality venue in the Texas Panhandle for contemporary Western artists. Proceeds fund additions to the collection and exhibitions of historic Southwestern art to the area.
BRANDING WITH BRUSHSTROKE AND COLOR: TEXAS IMPRESSIONISM, 1885-1935 Foran Gallery
April 7, 2012—September 3, 2012 This exhibition breaks the stereotypes about Texas artists in the American Impressionism movement by showing how Texas artists contributed to American Impressionism, whether their works depicted Texas or not. Associate Director for Curatorial Affairs and Curator of Art Michael R. Grauer has chosen to rigidly adhere to a few Impressionist requirements for a painting to be included in the exhibition, namely the work must have been painted between 1885 and 1935, have a high-keyed palette bordering on and including the pastel colors and include active brushwork with short strokes applied quickly over the surface.
WEEK OF THE YOUNG CHILD Museum-wide
April 17-20, 2011 9:00 - 10:00 am 10:15 - 11:15 am 11:30 am - 12:30 pm A program designed for children 3 – 5 years old and all Kindergarten students, the week is divided into four days, each having a specific theme. Tuesday is Indian Day, Wednesday is Cowboy Day, Thursday is The Arts Day and Friday is Dinosaur Day. Each program lasts for one hour. Students will participate in hands-on activities, taste unique foods, hear storytellers, learn about early Panhandle history and play games. Register your student group or child for one day or up to all four days by calling (806) 651-2258 or emailing Millie by April 10. Cost is $2.00 per child.
SPRING ROUNDUP East lawn
Saturday, April 28, 2012 10:00 am – 2:00 pm Experience the Old West with activities on the museum's east lawn. | 
