Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities

Day Trip: Western memorabilia on display

Roswell has more to offer than UFOs. The Roswell Museum and Art Center has reopened an exhibit called “West of Beyond.”

“The collection consists of 2,000 artifacts, all western material,” said museum spokesperson Laurie Rufe. “The collection was bequeathed to the museum by Rogers and Mary Ellen Aston. The artifacts were collected from all over.”

The collection includes artifacts from the prehistoric Mogollon Indian culture and Spanish conquest and domination, arms and armor from the Spanish era, Plains and Pueblo Indian materials, westward expansion and settlement materials, as well as items such as chaps, spurs and saddles.

The artifacts have actually been in the museum for 27 years. They now have new cases and are grouped into five thematic areas: family and community, farming and ranch, spirit, trade and exchange, and war and conquest.

According to Rufe, the reinstallation project took seven years to complete.

“The reinstallation takes the whole collection into the 21st century,” she said.

The exhibit also displays artwork from Don Stiver, Nick Eggenhoffer and even Rogers Aston himself.

Another exhibit to visit at the museum is the Las Artes de Mexico display on loan from the Gilcrease Museum in Omaha, Neb. The exhibit of pre-Columbian sculpture, folk art and works by Mexican modernists will be in Roswell until Dec. 31.

Admission

Admission to the museum is free.

The museum is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1-5 p.m. Sundays and holidays. It is closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day.

Directions

From Portales take U.S. 70 south to Roswell, exit onto 11th Street to the museum at 100 W. 11th St. The trip takes about an hour and a half.

Contact information

The address of the Roswell Museum and Art Center is 100 W. 11th St., Roswell, NM 88201. Call 624-6744 or visit http://www.roswellmuseum.org.