Blog

Continuing our summer blog series, Meet & Greet, let's get acquainted with Mary Burke, our Director. Describe your job. I lead a team of professionals who are talented, dedicated and creative and work well together and with our visitors. They make our collection of late 19th – early 20th century art of the American West accessible, inviting and relevant to the community, via the museum’s exhibitions, resources and programming for students, families and adults. What does an average day entail? “Average” varies, but normally it involves planning and organizing the upcoming exhibition, overseeing operational aspects of the museum and communicating with team [...]

For the third installment of our summer blog series, Meet & Greet, let’s catch up with Les Cleere, our Site and Exhibitions Coordinator. Describe your job. I oversee the museum’s operating systems, HVAC, and lighting. I coordinate both sub-contractors involved in building maintenance and art handlers helping to setup for art installations/de-installations. I also setup and assist with special events and education programs. What does an average day entail? Changing lighting in the galleries as needed prior to morning tours, securing loading zone for the tour buses, and in some instances setting up seating in a gallery for tours or [...]

Continuing our summer blog series, Meet & Greet, let’s get acquainted with the Sid Richardson Museum’s Director of Education Resources, Betsy Thomas. Describe your job. I oversee the Archives and Library, which houses all records related to the Museum’s collection and history (including ads and reproductions of the Museum’s artworks). As a part of the Education Department, I co-teach in the studio classroom, working with the Director of School and Family Programs in teaching hands-on art activities related to the works displayed in the Museum. I also assist the Museum Director with exhibition preparation and copyediting of Museum publications. What [...]

I recently made a trip out to Dutch Branch Ranch, located southwest of Fort Worth. Sid Richardson bought the ranch in 1946. Previously, Dutch Branch Ranch was owned by Elliot Roosevelt, son of Franklin D. and Eleanor Roosevelt. During Elliot’s tenure, President Roosevelt visited his son out on the Texas homestead on multiple occasions. Carlton Penn, the ranch foreman while the Roosevelt’s occupied the ranch, stayed on as foreman when Mr. Richardson took over operation in the 1940s. Mr. Richardson never lived on the property, but rather it was one of his local bases for his ranching business. The ranch [...]