Photo courtesy of Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West

Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West, announced today the upcoming opening of “The Gather: A Portrait of the American West – Scott T. Baxter,” a riveting new exhibition featuring 148 photographs from 1998 to 2023, chronicling American ranchers and cowboys (men and women) across the American West.

“The Gather: A Portrait of the American West – Scott T. Baxter” runs through July 30 at Western Spirit. The 148 featured photographs are displayed in various photographic techniques like silver gelatin, platinum/palladium, and archival pigment prints.

“Scott Baxter has a way of capturing the heart and soul of so many modern-day ranchers of the modern American West through the lens of his camera,” says Assistant Director- Collections, Exhibitions, and Research, Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West Tricia Loscher. “All of the images displayed in “The Gather” celebrate a vibrant way of life and the many unique traditions that continue to this day in the West.”
Scott Baxter is the author of “100 Years 100 Ranchers,” a 10-year official Legacy Project book for the Arizona Centennial that documents 100 long-time families who have been ranching in Arizona since 1912 or earlier. Since spring 2011, “100 Years 100 Ranchers” has been shown throughout Arizona from Terminal Four at Sky Harbor to Wickenburg’s Desert Caballeros Western Art Museum and the Tucson Museum of Art.

“I decided to take on these projects because I felt it was important to preserve with photographs the vanishing legacy of ranchers and working cowboys. I chose to work exclusively with monochromatic film because it too has a long, wonderful history,” shares Baxter. When discussing his process Baxter says, “I have always tried to do something worthwhile with my photography and I believe deeply in these photographic projects. The stories in “The Gather” are stories worthy of preserving. If you find something you are passionate about, the story will come, and I find it always comes out before the photograph is even made.”

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.

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