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For the Love of Canines

Through August 27, 2023 Buy Tickets

Exhibition open October 22, 2022 – August 27, 2023

Wild canines, including foxes, coyotes, and wolves, have held significant social and cultural meaning to humans worldwide throughout history. However, there are conflicted emotional opinions regarding these familiar predators.  Foxes, for example, while prized for their beauty and their cunningness, are despised for preying on smaller livestock and poultry, such as chickens and ducks. Coyotes, a canine species native to North America, nearly brought to extinction during western settlement, are also part of some Native cultures’ cosmologies. Sometimes considered a creator, Coyote might also be wicked or a buffoon. Of all wild canines, wolves have perhaps caused the most dread historically. Feared by ancient farmers to present day ranchers, wolves that at times prey on sheep, cattle, and other domestic animals, have also been known to kill humans. Alternatively, the famous Etruscan sculpture of La Lupa Capitolina (The Capitoline Wolf) from the fifth century BCE depicts a she-wolf caring for twins, Romulus and Remus, who founded city of Rome. Still, the one thing that all wild canines have common is a genetic relation to our own much beloved domestic dogs.

For the Love of Canines questions humans’ relation and fascination with canines, whether love or loathing, through works of art from NMWA’s permanent collection.

Carl Rungius (Germany, 1869 – 1959), Red Fox, 1933. Oil on canvas. 30 x 40 inches. Jackson Hole Preserve, National Museum of Wildlife Art. © Estate of Carl Rungius.
Ken Carlson (United States, b. 1937), Wolf, 1988. Oil on board. 23 x 35 inches. JKM Collection®, National Museum of Wildlife Art. © Ken Carlson.
George Catlin (United States, 1796 – 1872), Buffalo Hunt, White Wolves Attacking, 1848. Hand-colored lithograph. 12 x 17 3/4 inches. JKM Collection®, National Museum of Wildlife Art.
Robert Bateman (Canadian, b. 1930), Mesa Verde – Coyote, 2004. Acrylic on panel. 24 x 36 inches. JKM Collection®, National Museum of Wildlife Art. © Robert Bateman.
William Gollings (United States, 1878 – 1932), The Call, 1910. Oil on canvas. 14 ½ x 10 ½ inches. JKM Collection®, National Museum of Wildlife Art.
Frank Tenney Johnson (United States, 1874 – 1939), Coyote Moonrise, c. 1920. Oil on canvas. 30 x 40 inches. JKM Collection®, National Museum of Wildlife Art.
Robert F. Kuhn (United States, 1920 – 2007), Sly Fox, 1990. Acrylic on board. 8 x 14 inches. Gift of Eliza and Tom Chrystie, National Museum of Wildlife Art Collection. © Estate of Robert F. Kuhn.
Terrance Guardipee (Blackfeet, b.1968), Black Wolf Society, 2020. Oil stick on antique ledger paper. 19 x 36 inches. Gift of the 2020 Blacktail Gala, National Museum of Wildlife Art. © Terrance Guardipee.
Alfred Wierusz Kowalski (Poland, 1849 - 1915), A Pack of Wolves, n.d.. Oil on canvas. 36 1/2 x 48 5/8 inches. On Loan from William G. Kerr, National Museum of Wildlife Art.
Robert F. Kuhn (United States, 1920 – 2007), Desert Harmony. Acrylic on board. 16 x 32 inches. Gift of John and Saralynn Geraghty and the RSGBK Foundation, JKM Collection®, National Museum of Wildlife Art Collection. © Estate of Robert F. Kuhn.
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Wolves: Photography by Ronan Donovan

Through April 29, 2023

This exhibition features the impactful work of National Geographic Explorer and photographer Ronan Donovan. Created by National Geographic Society and the National Museum of Wildlife Art, this exhibition will display images and videos—highlighting the contrast between wolves that live in perceived competition with humans and wolves that live without human intervention.

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Pistils and Petals: Wyoming’s Polli-Nation

Through February 12, 2023

More than 80 percent of the world’s flowering plants need a pollinator to reproduce and survive. This year the student-curated project presented by art students at Jackson Hole High School focuses on local wildlife and pollination.

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What People Are Saying
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" I have visited museums around the world and I thoroughly enjoyed this one. It was far more than I was expecting. What a treat! Don't miss it!"
— Roxanne B.
"No trip to Jackson is complete without a visit to this Museum! It contains many current and historical wildlife paintings and overlooks the Elk Refuge. We go every time we visit."
— J.W.
"The permanent collection is fantastic, and the temporary shows are insightful and always full of surprises. "
— Jennifer S.
"This is as good as everyone says! We are not museum people and we are especially not art museum people but we loved this place."
— David W.
"The most pleasant surprise was the restaurant Palate - the manager ran it like a fine restaurant! What a view! And the food was excellent - probably one of the best meals we had in Jackson!"
— Erin S.
"The venue was fantastic! Spacious, great service, and fun to look at the artwork. The vista over the elk refuge was gorgeous."
— Justicia T.
"Incredible and not to be missed. Bierstadt, Wyeth, O'Keeffe and many other greats all represented!"
— David P.
"Well worth the trip! The collection was much more extensive than we expected. The exterior sculptures are wonderful."
— Elizabeth H.