• 2200 S. Van Buren, Amarillo, Texas 79109
• P.O. Box 447, Amarillo, Texas 79178
• Telephone: 806-371-5050
• Fax: 806-373-9235
• E-mail: amoa@actx.edu

Our History

The Amarillo Museum of Art was formulated in 1967 by a local group of determined and dedicated community leaders for the purpose of creating and maintaining an art museum for citizens of Amarillo and the surrounding area. By 1970 the Board of Trustees joined with Amarillo College, a two year community college chartered in 1926, to raise funds for the construction of a Fine Arts Complex. The Museum, the Concert Hall/Theater and Music building opened to the public in October 1972. The Amarillo Museum of Art's facilities were dedicated to Betty Bivins Childers whose perseverance and dynamic leadership led to the realization of the community's goal of establishing a visual arts resource for the area.

The Structure

The building and the surrounding complex were designed by noted architect Edward Durell Stone, who had prviously designed

Six galleries are programmed with 16 exhibitions per year focused on changing loan exhibitions and art from the Museum's permanent collections. Loan exhibitions present works of contemporary art in all media, art historical shows of American and European master works, and art produced by a myriad of world cultures. Works shown from the permanent collection include early to mid 20th century modernists, photography, European paintings from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, Middle Eastern textiles, and Asian art from the 1st century B.C. through the mid 19th century.

Museum Programs

Education programs enhance and complement the exhibitions. The Museum offers lectures, gallery talks, video and film, tours, symposia and publications to the public. Other educational programs include workshops for the surrounding Panhandle public school districts and a museum school.

Our Collection

The collection has diverse treasures. Like many other Texas institutions built in the early and mid '70s the Museum began in 1972 as a non-collecting institution. However, by 1979 the Board of Trustees had established collection policies and since that time the Museum's holdings have grown steadily.
 The earliest collection focus was early American Modernist paintings and today the collection is best represented in this area by the four Georgia O'Keeffe watercolors and several works by John Marin. These works are in the context of other members of their circle such as Edward Steichen, Edward Weston, Paul Strand, and Alfred Stieglitz. mid-century Modernists are represented by a particularly nice Franz Kline and important pieces by Louise Nevelson and Helen Frankenthaler.
 A small group of European paintings from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries are best represented by two excellent paintings from the mid 1700s by the Italian painter Francesco Guardi.

The photography holdings are dominated by the work of F.S.A.

photographer RusselI Lee however, excellent examples of his colleagues Dorothea Lange, Arthur Rothstein, Jack Delano and Marion Post Wolcott are included.

Since 1995 the Museum's Asian art collection has grown dramatically through the generosity of Dr. William T. and Jimmie Dell Price of Amarillo. Thecollection includes representative textiles from every primary weaving area of the Middle East with examples from the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. A comprehensive selection of Edo period Japanese wood block prints by all the major artists is in place and being added to yearly by the Prices. Of particular interest are the South and Southeast Asian sculpture holdings in this collection. Again, this area continues to grow, but currently the collection has Buddhist and Hindu pieces ranging from 2nd century B.C. Gandharan works to 9th century Java and 14th century Khmer sculpture.

Copyright © 1998, The Amarillo Museum of Art. All rights reserved.