Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West announced Sept. 14 a top ranking among True West Magazine’s 2022 Top Western Museums. The museum will be featured in the September 2022 issue, a press release stated.

“Western Spirit is a true treasure — not just for the Phoenix area, but also for the West,” True West Executive Editor Bob Boze Bell, said in the release. “It continues to do a great job of preserving Old West items and exhibits and then telling the story to a modern audience. Western Spirit is a Top Western Museum.”

This is the 17th year True West has presented the annual award. Editors, led by Candy Moulton, base their selection on criteria evaluating exhibits, facilities, multimedia, online accessibility, events and promotion of historic/cultural resources.

“We are once again honored to be on this list,” James Burns, executive director of Western Spirit, said in the release. “Our mission is to share with audiences the stories of the greater North American West, illuminating the past to shape our future by featuring artwork and objects that define the iconic American West. We encourage visitors to immerse themselves in our western art, historical archives and sustainable architecture for the ultimate Western Spirit experience.”

Western Spirit features regularly changing and permanent exhibits of Western and Native American art and artifacts, entertaining events and informative programs that bring the West’s heritage, culture and community to life. Exhibits include Light and Legacy: The Art and Techniques of Edward S. Curtis, Beaded Gauntlets from William P. Healey Collection, Dr. Rennard Strickland’s Western Poster Collection and The Railroad Opening Up the West, a new model train exhibition.

Permanent exhibitions continuously on display include Canvas of Clay: Hopi Pottery Masterworks from The Allan and Judith Cooke Collection, which features 65 examples of Hopi pottery spanning six centuries, the Frankie and Howard Alper Collection of John Coleman Bronzes and The Abe Hays Family Spirit of the West Collection, a showcase of more than 1,400 saddles, spurs, cowboy gear and other Old West objects.

For more information about Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West, go to Scottsdalemuseumwest.org.