Past Special Exhibits
Eyewitness: American Originals from the National Archives
February 16 - April 20, 2008
| Hear a podcast interview with the woman who curated this exhibit by clicking here. Check out a photo gallery from the opening weekend activities. |
The Museum was the only venue in Texas where you could be an eyewitness to some of the nation's most powerful historical records.
Eyewitness draws on rarely-displayed documents, audio recordings, and film footage from the extensive holdings of the National Archives and its Presidential Libraries and Regional Archives.
History books describe historical events including the Emancipation of slaves or the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, but the power of the original accounts written or recorded at the time of the event allows visitors to experience them firsthand. Many of the documents are enhanced through a free audio tour, in which actors convey the drama of the events in the documents.
The exhibition presented Lady Bird Johnson's audio diary, in which visitors could hear Mrs. Johnson describing the events of President Kennedy's assassination on November 22, 1963.
The Lone Star State's only venue for Eyewitness was also the only stop on the national tour where visitors were able to see the original typed transcripts of that account.
Click here to see Mrs. Johnson's transcript, which was on loan from the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum in Austin
You could also read Thomas Jefferson's account of the French Revolution and the storming of the Bastille, feel the joy of fugitive slave John Boston in a letter to his wife Elizabeth, and hear the wonder in Apollo 8 crew member Jim Lovell's voice as he describes the vastness of space.
The exhibit also contained two eyewitness accounts from George H.W. Bush — his diary entry on President Richard Nixon's final day in office and the memo from President Bush's conversation with German Chancellor Helmut Kohl after the fall of the Berlin Wall — that were on loan from the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum in College Station.
The Museum was also be the only spot in the nation where you could get eyewitness accounts from the Texas Revolution. Two handwritten accounts — the famous "Victory or Death" letter from Alamo commander William B. Travis and a letter to a friend from a Texas defender at Goliad — offered different prospectives from two men facing similar overwhelming odds.
This exhibition was created by the National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, DC, and the Foundation for the National Archives. The national tour of Eyewitness is sponsored by The Boeing Company.
Check out the official Eyewitness website by clicking here
In Citizen’s Garb: Southern Plains Native Americans, 1889–1891
September 15, 2007 - January 6, 2008
Click here to see public programs associated with this exhibit.
Check out a 360-degree tour of the gallery by clicking here.
The 1880s and 1890s were decades of tremendous upheaval for many Native Peoples in Texas.
Numerous Indian reservations were opened in the Oklahoma and Indian Territories during this time and large-scale efforts were made to force the Native Peoples to adopt Euro-American ways.
In Citizen’s Garb: Southern Plains Native Americans, 1889–1891, explored how dress — and life — changed for the Kiowa and 
Comanche tribes as they gradually adjusted to the new way of life required by the United States government.
In addition to historical objects and examples of clothing from the period, the exhibition contained 53 photographs (modern re-strikes made from original glass negatives) that were taken from 1889 to 1891 by the team of William J. Lenny and William L. Sawyers.
Lenny and Sawyers established a photo studio in Purcell, Oklahoma, one of many towns that sprang up on former Native American lands. Images of Native Americans in both citizen and native dress reflect the transition occurring between the tribes’ past and their radically different future. Other details are more subtle: a tipi constructed of store-bought canvas rather than of animal hides, for example, reflects a significant change in the material culture of the native peoples.
Among the rare artifacts included in this exhibition:
- A brightly decorated Kiowa child's cradleboard ca. 1890-1900.
- A beaver hat from a Parisian hatmaker that was adapted and modified by Native Americans with a beaver pelt and painted feathers.
- A Comanche man's tab style leggings featuring leather tabs at the top ending in horsehair tassels decorated with light blue beadwork. The long, twisted leather fringe is characteristic of Southern Plains men's leggings.
- A Comanche woman's high moccasins ca. 1900.
- A Kiowa buckskin dress top decorated with cowrie shells.
- A Kiowa/Apache "wearing blanket" ca. 1900.
The exhibition was curated by John Hernandez, Director of the Museum of the Great Plains in Lawton, Oklahoma, and organized by the Museum of the Great Plains and toured by ExhibitsUSA, a national division of Mid-America Arts Alliance with the Texas Commission on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Presenting Sponsor: Buena Vista Foundation.
Local support: Albert and Ethel Herzstein Hall Fund.
Local media sponsor: Time Warner Cable
Made to Walk the Skies: Texas & Space Travel
May 26 - August 12, 2007
The soul of man was made to walk the skies…
And, undeluded, grasp at something great.
From Edward Young, Night Thoughts on Life, Death and Immortality
(1742-1745)
"We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard…"
President John F. Kennedy's Address at Rice University on the Nation's Space Effort, September 12, 1962
The history of manned space flight is an international story with Texas at its heart. In 1961, the Manned Spacecraft Center was established in Houston. As the home of Mission Control and the astronaut training program, the center came to represent both the voice and the face of America's space program. In 1973, the Center was
renamed in honor of the late President and Texas native, Lyndon B. Johnson.
From the early Gemini, Apollo and Skylab projects to today's Space Shuttle and International Space Station programs, Texas continues to play a leading role in human space exploration.
The Museum featured a special exhibition chronicling Texas' role in the exploration of space.
Made to Walk the Skies: Texas & Space Travel featured historic equipment and the compelling stories of the Texans that helped make space exploration a reality. Included in the exhibit were:
- A test-fired second-stage engine from theTitan Rocket used to launch all Gemini manned spaceflights in the mid-1960s.
- A spacesuit worn by astronaut Tom Stafford during his Gemini 6 mission.
- A lunar sample collection bag that was used on the Apollo 15 mission.
- An in-flight suit worn by astronaut Charlie Duke on his way to the moon on Apollo 16.
- A mission control console from NASA, Houston.
- Gloves used by astronauts during a spacewalk on the Space Shuttle Discovery's mission in 1985.
- Thermal protection tiles removed from the Space Shuttle Columbia.
Local support: Albert and Ethel Herzstein Hall Fund.
Local media sponsor: Time Warner Cable
Revealing Character: Robb Kendrick's Texas Tintypes
February 17 - April 19, 2007
Click here to read the winning essays from the What Is Character? Essay Contest.
Though many regard cowboys as heroes from a bygone era, Texas still boasts a number of real-life working cowboys on its modern-day ranches.
Since 2004, Texas-born photographer Robb Kendrick has been capturing images of those cowboys via the tintype, a 19th-century photographic method.
The exhibition featured 66 tintypes of cowboys and cowgirls taken all over the Lone Star State plus 12 enlarged prints of tintype images.
Curated by Margaret Blagg, executive director of the Old Jail Art Center in Albany, this project grew out of a heritage photography campaign commissioned by Frost Bank.
Blagg explains why this is an unusual photography exhibition. "Because tintypes are unique – that is, literally one-of-a-kind creations – they are more like paintings or drawings than photographs. Today, photographs are infinitely reproducible. Robb Kendrick's tintypes, created in a 19th-century method, are each original works of art. The care he takes to compose and create each one is akin to the creative effort of making a painting."
Kendrick says of the process, "Tintypes are a challenging medium because they require the subject to stay still for a number of seconds as the image burns onto the plate, but the process provides so much reward in terms of truly capturing someone's soul. It's a perfect medium for exploring a subject matter like character, and there is no better place to find that character than in today's Texas cowboys. I've been privileged to meet so many of these men and women through my travels and to spend the time with them that this photographic process demands. I hope that Texans will see a little of themselves and their ancestors in this exhibit…it's an honor to share these stories and photographs."
Robb Kendrick is a native Texan whose photography has been featured in National Geographic, Sports Illustrated and Smithsonian.
This exhibit was underwritten by Frost Bank with support from Texas Monthly.
Local support: Albert and Ethel Herzstein Hall Fund. Local
media sponsor: Time Warner Cable.
Paula Chamlee: High Plains Farm
March 3 - April 19, 2007
Paula Chamlee presented a visually stunning and emotionally powerful focus on a Texas farm that revealed a way of life that is quickly vanishing.
The images in this exhibition were made on the wheat farm where Chamlee grew up on the High Plains of the Texas Panhandle, a place where her parents were still farming 1,100 acres all by themselves well into their 90s.
Paula's father passed away in 2004, but at age 94, was climbing trees and cutting branches the day before he fell ill. Her mother, now 94, still lives on the farm.
These photographs comprise a portrait of the habits, ethics, and value system that embody the spirit and struggles of an older generation of Panhandle farmers and ranchers.
In this exhibition, her parent’s farm, typical of the dwindling number of family farms in the Panhandle, becomes the focal point through which the larger portrait of life throughout rural America can be seen.
George F. Thompson, President of the Center for American Places says, "With this exhibition and the accompanying book, Paula Chamlee has given us a great gift that can be shared with future generations. She conveys to us, through the magic and integrity of photography, that truth can be found in beauty, and that beauty and knowledge can be found in common places."
All photographs courtesy of the artist. This show was organized by art2art Circulating Exhibitions.
Miss Ima's Quilts
October 28, 2006 - January 7, 2007
Click here for a podcast conversation with guest curator Kate Adams.
Miss Ima Hogg [1882-1975] was a visionary collector, preservationist, and philanthropist.
To highlight her vision as a collector, this special exhibition for the first time brought together an extraordinary selection of Miss Ima's quilts that range in date from the late 1700s to the early 1900s.
This exhibition showcased twenty-five quilts Miss Ima collected representing traditional American quilting – pieced, appliquéd, whole cloth, patriotic, and album quilts, many with evocative pattern names such as Double Irish Chain, Flying Geese, Mariner’s Compass, and Log Cabin. 
These quilts are examples of one
of the most popular and enduring folk art traditions in America and each testifies to Miss Ima’s keen eye for excellence and passion for collecting.
The quilts highlighted in this exhibition are a direct result of the philanthropic and preservation efforts of Miss Ima Hogg whose generous gifts to the people of Texas included three remarkable Texas historic properties, the Bayou Bend Collection and Garden, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; the Winedale Historical Center, Center for American History, the University of Texas at Austin; and the Varner-Hogg Plantation State Historic Site, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
All three sites house renowned decorative arts collections that reflect Miss Ima's passion for collecting and preservation.
Media Sponsor: Time Warner Cable
It STILL Ain't Braggin' If It's True
May 27-September 10, 2006
Opening day activities sponsored by Chevron
In 2006, the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum marked its fifth anniversary. As part of the celebration, the Museum presented a new look at the popular opening year exhibit entitled, It Ain't Braggin' If It's True, by presenting It STILL Ain't Braggin' If It's True
in the special exhibit gallery from May 27 - September 10, 2006.
Just as in the original Braggin' exhibit, STILL Ain't Braggin' explored the qualities of Vision, Friendship, Perseverance, Pride, Showmanship, and Swagger through one-of-a-kind objects and the stories they tell. And, by popular demand from the original exhibition, visitors were once again able to see the magnificent rhinestone studded Cadillac covered with symbols of Texas.
STILL Ain't Braggin' featured 38 compelling new stories with incredible associated objects. Included among the many stories told in the exhibition:
- Mary Kay Ash personifies a story of vision as she took her three decades
of sales experience and created a direct sales cosmetics company based on her Golden Rule of "faith first, family second, career third." She became famous for the pink Cadillacs -- one of which will be displayed in the exhibit -- awarded to top sellers and her approach to business, which she called "praising people to success." At the time of Ash's death, Mary Kay Cosmetics had over 800,000 representatives in 37 countries with total
annual sales of more than $2 billion. - The story of Isamu Taniguchi is a moving example of perseverance.
As an internee at Crystal City during World War II, he built a model of a shrine in order to practice his faith. Taniguchi settled as a farmer near Harlingen and later retired to Austin, where he designed and built the Japanese Garden in Zilker Park. The shrine has been preserved by a Sulphur Springs resident whose father was a camp supply officer and befriended Taniguchi. - The story of friendship between Texas Republic's President Sam Houston and the Cherokee Chief Bowles was revealed in a Houston letter to Bowles reflecting his effort to support Cherokee property rights in east Texas.
- In the tradition of It Ain't Braggin' If It's True, visitors saw a story of Texas pride that would take them to the moon.
Texas astronaut Charlie Duke and Texas football coach Darrell Royal schemed up a
plan to fly a Texas Flag on the moon during Duke's Apollo 16 moon mission. Not only did the exhibit have the Texas flag that went to
the moon, there was also a Coach Royal
designed "football" flag that made the historic trip as well. - A showmanship story worthy of the big top featured La Carpa García. Carpas were vaudevillian troupes that traveled as tent
shows throughout the southwest and
northern Mexico, and the most renowned troupe, La Carpa García, was based in San Antonio. Included was a large model of a carpa tent showing the performances of the acrobats.
And there was a flavorful story of swagger of Texas-sized proportions. Gladys Farek Holub bought a cement mixer for her bakery in Cistern, Texas and with it, created a 150 pound Texas-shaped fruitcake claimed to be the world's largest. Gladys took her Lone Star confection to appearances on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and Late Night with David Letterman.
Media Sponsor: Time Warner Cable
A Slave Ship Speaks: The Wreck of the Henrietta Marie
February 11- April 15, 2006
Click here to download an audio file and hear more about this exhibit.
On display from February 11 through April 15, 2006, The Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum featured the special exhibit, A Slave Ship Speaks: The Wreck of the Henrietta Marie. Organized by the Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Society, this poignant and powerful exhibit brought to the surface artifacts recovered from the wreck of the British merchant slave ship, the Henrietta Marie, which sank about 35 miles off the coast of Key West in 1700.
Through interactive displays and hundreds of artifacts, from pewter cups and muskets to navigational equipment and iron shackles, the exhibit explored the early history of the transatlantic slave trade, recreating its triangular route from London to West Africa to the Americas. Visitors could examine the artifacts for which human lives were traded, investigate a scale model of a slave ship, and explore the ship's archaeological recovery. This moving exhibit examined the economic and social forces that drove the slave trade and provided insight into its impact on the material life and culture of Europe, Africa and the Americas.
In 1699, the Henrietta Marie sailed from London with a cargo of pewter, beads and other goods. She went first to New Calabar, in West Africa, where English goods were exchanged for ivory and enslaved Africans. She then sailed to Jamaica, where her captain sold her cargo of Africans to plantation owners. The ship started the journey home, but a storm sank her in the Straits of Florida in July 1700. The site of the ship's remains was discovered in 1972, and later excavated.
The Henrietta Marie is the only identified and excavated merchant slave ship to have sunk in the course of trade in the New World. Artifacts raised from the ocean floor show that the Henrietta Marie carried pewter ware, ivory, slave shackles, trade beads, and many other artifacts which document every aspect of the slave trade. The exhibition used the artifacts and the ship's records as touchstones for entering the daily lives of the Africans on board the ship as they made the journey to the New World as slaves; the seamen who manned the ship and managed its human cargo; and the traders who ran this notorious enterprise and integrated it into the economy of England.
This exhibition has been organized and sponsored by the Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Society. Major funding has been provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities, Florida Department of State, Bureau of Historical Museums, and the James L. and John S. Knight Foundation. National Tour sponsor, the General Motors Company. Media Sponsor: Time Warner Cable
The Face of Texas
October 1, 2005 - January 8, 2006
Click here to download an audio file and hear photographer Michael O'Brien discuss the some of the people he met in The Face of Texas.
Austin photographer Michael O'Brien has spent the last two decades capturing The Face of Texas in photographs. His 43 large-scale photographs celebrate the individuality and independent spirit of Texas through portraits of its people -- a fascinating and diverse array of native and adoptive Texans, from powerful big-city movers to unique small-town characters. Accompanying text by his wife and former reporter for Life, Elizabeth O'Brien, told the stories behind the arresting images.
The exhibit highlighted its share of Texas musicia
ns (Willie Nelson), politicians (President George W. Bush), athletes (Earl Campbell), actors (Sissy Spacek), authors (Larry McMurtry) and artists (Jesse Trevino), as well as ballet dancers (Ballet Austin's Susan Stowe) and beauty queens (Miss Rodeo, Miss El Paso and Miss Gatorfest). However, the exhibit included portraits of small-town Texas as well, with images taken in far-flung places like Marfa, Athens, Luling, Fort Davis and La Grange. The Face of Texas brought together Texans from across the state and from all walks of life.
Media Sponsor: Time Warner Cable
Texas Movies
July 9 - September 5, 2005
From the first documentary footage ever captured of the Galveston Hurricane in 1900 to the recent explosion in filmmaking activities, Texas has made significant cinematic contributions over the past 100 years. The exhibit, Texas Movies, paid tribute to movies made in the Lone Star State. Texas' own homegrown filmmakers took the spotlight, from the unique vision of contemporary directors like Richard Linklater (Slacker), Robert Rodriquez (Spy Kids, Sin City), Tim McCanlies (Secondhand Lions, Dancer, Texas Pop. 81) and Wes Anderson (Bottle Rocket, Rushmore) to the work of historic Texas-based production companies, including the early westerns of the Star Film Ranch, Spanish language films made along the border, and rare films from the 1940s produced by Sack Film Amusement in Dallas.
Visitors saw artifacts from more than 80 films, including the oil-drenched clothes donned by James Dean in Giant (1956), a script for State Fair (1962), the vintage Chevy Bel Air police cruiser from Sin City (2005), lobby cards for The Sugarland Express (1974) and Cloris Leachman's Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in The Last Picture Show (1971). Organized by the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum and curated by author Frank Thompson, this exhibit brought together the films that celebrate the Texas myth and mystique, along with the documentaries, sci-fi films, dramas, musicals, horror flicks and comedies that helped tell the story of Texas Movies.
Media Sponsor: Time Warner Cable
Drawn from Experience: Landmark Maps of Texas
February 19 - June 5, 2005
Presented by Stewart Title Guaranty Company
with support from The Summerlee Foundation
Additional underwriting provided by the Texas State History Museum Foundation.
Drawn from Experience: Landmark Maps of Texas traced the evolution of the shape of Texas through 500 years of mapmaking, from the sixteenth century to the present day. This exhibit brought together more than 60 historic maps, several of which had never before been on display, as well as modern maps created through cutting-edge technology like holography and satellite imaging. These maps reflect the advancement of scientific knowledge, the power and conquest of nations, the skill and artistry of famous mapmakers, and the technical mapping innovations that unfolded over the centuries.
Landmark Maps of Texas was organized by the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum in conjunction with the Virginia Garrett Cartographic History Library, Special Collections Division of the University of Texas at Arlington Libraries, and in cooperation with the Texas State Historical Association and the Texas Map Society.
Go West: Selections from the Jack S. Blanton Museum of Art, C.R. Smith Collection
October 16, 2004 - January 9, 2005
Presented by Jan Felts Bullock and ChevronTexaco
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Visitors discovered the drama and majesty of the American West as it appeared over 100 years ago. This exhibition of more than 50 paintings showed how the events, landscapes and people of the new frontier captured the imagination of such celebrated artists as Albert Bierstadt, Thomas Moran, Charles Russell, Henry Farny and Maynard Dixon. These painters traveled west to document images of breathtaking vistas and romantic valor, creating a new genre of art.
Go West revealed both the history and myth of the West through artwork created by more than two dozen artists from the 1850s through the 1970s. These paintings were collected by native Texan C.R. Smith, who was the CEO of American Airlines from 1934 - 1974. He chose artists who portrayed the flora and fauna of the rugged terrain, as well as the Native Americans, cowboys, miners, settlers, soldiers and hunters who inhabited the West of the nineteenth century. The Jack S. Blanton Museum's new building, due to open in 2006, will be located across the street from the Texas State History Museum. This exhibit was the first collaboration between the two museums.
Texas Flags: 1836 - 1945
February 28 - August 22, 2004
Many have heard of the six flags of Texas, but over the years countless other banners have served the Lone Star State, flying over forts, accompanying men into battle and symbolizing significant passages in history. This temporary exhibit was a tour of Texas history seen through the flags that flew over the state. First presented at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston in 2002, this exhibition has been organized to travel by the Center for Texas Studies at Texas Christian University. Texas Flags explored the history, symbolism and events behind 30 rare banners, including flags from the Battle of San Jacinto in 1836, the Civil War, the Buffalo Soldiers, Texas battalions that fought in WWII and more.
Play Ball! Texas Baseball
June 14, 2003 - January 4, 2004
Among all sports, only baseball is known as America's "national pastime" -- and baseball holds a special place in the hearts of Texans and the history of the Lone Star State. Since the creation of the Texas League in 1888, over 100 Texas towns have hosted minor league teams, more than any other state.
This special exhibit captured the excitement of the game with artifacts like original uniforms, equipment, stadium details, mascots, memorabilia and more. Visitors learned about native Texan baseball Hall of Famers like superstar pitcher Nolan Ryan, Rube Foster, founder of the Negro National League in 1920, and Austin's own Willie Wells, an African-American shortstop who pioneered the use of the batting helmet.
Visitors discovered ballpark innovations created in Texas, such as air-conditioned restrooms for women and the world's first domed stadium. With recreated radio broadcasts and oral histories from current major league players and managers who got their start in the Texas League (including "Pudge" Rodriguez, Bob Brenly and Mark McLemore), this exhibit brought baseball back to its time-honored traditions.
Promotional support provided by KASE 101, 98.1 KVET FM, Z102 and AM 1300 The Zone.
How the West Was Worn
February 22, 2003 - May 4, 2003
From buckskins to rhinestones and from cowboy boots to blue jeans, Western wear has played a unique role in the history of Texas and the American West. The distinctive fashions that emerged over the past two centuries embodied the free spirit, rugged individualism and personal freedom of the region. The evolution of the Western style from frontier times to the present, and from rodeos to Rodeo Drive, was explored in the temporary exhibit, How the West Was Worn, from February 22 to May 4, 2003.
This exhibit, on loan from the Autry Museum of Western Heritage in Los Angeles, showcased over 150 items of clothing along with photography, period advertising and design sketches that told the story of how Western attire grew in popularity and changed over the years to reflect the evolution of the West itself. How the West Was Worn brought to light the origins of Western dress from the styles of the Spanish, Mexicans and Native Americans to the popular influences of dude ranches, rodeos, Western movies and the music industry.
Visitors to the exhibit learned more about the people who immortalized cowboy couture, including Wild West showmen, bucking bronco riders, Nashville legends, singing cowboys of the silver screen, rhinestone rockers, honky-tonk heroes, urban cowboys, colorful cowgirls and even pint-size buckaroos. Visitors saw decorative Western outfits that belonged to celebrities like Gene Autry, Tom Mix, Roy Rogers and John Travolta. Visitors discovered what these celebrities wore, and found out about the inventive tailors, such as Nathan Turk, Rodeo Ben and Nudie Cohn, who dressed them in a style that ultimately helped create an identity and begin a tradition that continues to impact fashion to this day.
Partial sponsorship provided by ChevronTexaco.
Promotional support provided by KASE 101 and 98.1 KVET FM.
How the West Was Worn was organized by the Autry Musem of Western Heritage, Los Angeles, California.
Exhibition sponsored nationally by Friends of the Autry, MICE Group, One Colorado, Lesly and Pat Sajak and Viacom Outdoor.
Thanks to the participants of the online auction that supported How the West Was Worn and to the auction organizers, KASE 101 and 98.1 KVET FM.
Country Music From The Lone Star State
September 28, 2002 - January 5, 2003
Visitors kicked up their heels at the temporary exhibit, Country Music from the Lone Star State, organized in cooperation with the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville and made possible through a grant from the Texas State History Foundation. On display from Sept. 28, 2002 to Jan. 5, 2003, this exhibition expanded upon the original Nashville exhibit to trace the roots of Texas country music from the songs of the early settlers to modern-day performers.
The exhibit featured instruments, costumes and artifacts belonging to some of Texas' biggest country stars, such as Bob Wills, Roy Orbison, Townes Van Zandt, Flaco Jiménez, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown and the Dixie Chicks. 
Visitors could check out Bob Wills' fiddle, an early handwritten song book by Willie Nelson and Cindy Walker's pink and floral patterned typewriter that she used to write country classics like "You Don't Know Me." Other featured objects included Flaco Jiménez's red Hohner button accordion and singer-songwriter Butch Hancock's West Texas landscape photography. Visitors found out how Texas musicians made their mark on American music and influenced the style of country music over the years.
Also on display were artifacts, footage and photographs from the locally-produced PBS TV program, "Austin City Limits." A stage and other environmental structures within the exhibit evoked the history of the Texas country sound from hoedowns to honky-tonks and provided a setting for live performances and educational programs.
Promotional support from KXAN TV 36 and KGSR 107.1.
Sunrise In His Pocket:
The Life, Legend and Legacy of Davy Crockett
March 2, 2002- August 18, 2002
On Texas Independence Day, March 2, 2002, The Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum celebrated the "King of the Wild Frontier" with the premiere of the temporary exhibit Sunrise in His Pocket: The Life, Legend and Legacy of Davy Crockett, supported by a generous grant from the Belo Foundation. Organized jointly by the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum and the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, Wyoming, this exhibit was displayed in Austin through
August 18, 2002.
Known as a legendary frontiersman, a backwoods congressman, a martyred hero and a pop culture icon, Davy Crockett has been an integral part of the American identity over the past two centuries. The Life, Legend and Legacy of Davy Crockett paid homage to both the man and the myth by displaying artifacts from Crockett's life along with objects that reflect his ongoing influence in American culture. The exhibit explored Crockett as the quintessential frontiersman; the inspiration for the American image of the "hunter-hero;" a symbol of the "Age of Common Man;" a martyr for the cause of America's Manifest Destiny; and a celebrity of popular culture.
Museum visitors were able to see some of Crockett's belongings, such as his personal letters, as well as the "Davy Crockett Almanacs" that helped create his celebrity status both during and after his lifetime. The exhibit contained six video segments from the television documentary, Boone & Crockett, The Hunter-Heroes, produced and donated by The History Channel. Also on display were objects and artifacts inspired by Crockett's story created in the years after his death, such as an original script with notations from a Victorian-era theater production, dime novels, portraits -- even Fess Parker's rifle from the popular TV program that aired in 1955 and John Wayne's buckskin costume from the 1960 film. A figurehead of Davy Crockett from an 1853 clipper ship and a recreated child's room from 1955 -- complete with Davy Crockett wallpaper, curtains, bedspread, furniture, pillowcases, pajamas and toys -- were just a few examples of the many featured items that spanned over a century of Crockett mania.
It Ain't Braggin' If It's True
April 21, 2001 - December 31, 2001
Texas history is about more than facts and figures – it is also about incredible artifacts and the amazing stories behind them. The first temporary exhibit at The Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum, It Ain't Braggin' If It's True, paid tribute to the distinctive character of the Lone Star State by telling some of these amazing stories. Carl Sandburg once wrote that Texas is a blend of valor and swagger. This exhibit expanded on his statement by featuring six sections that served as testament to the "braggin' rights" of Texas: Valor, Vision, Pride, Perseverance, Swagger and Showmanship. Sponsored by the Belo Foundation, It Ain't Braggin' If It's True opened with the Museum in April of 2001 and continued through December 2001.
Each section of this exhibit contained a diverse array of fascinating artifacts:
• Valor features the Bible that saved the life of Sam Houston, Jr. during the Civil War battle of Shiloh when a bullet lodged in its pages, stopping at the 70th Psalm: "O God: Thou art my help and deliverer."
• Vision includes a model of Ezekiel's Airship, a flying machine designed by a minister in Northeast Texas that was built and flown a full year before the Wright Brothers' plane.
• Pride features an ornate, eight-foot-tall secretary desk with 137 different kinds of Texas wood and inlaid symbols of Texas heritage made in 1904 by a 13-year-old boy for the St. Louis World's Fair.
• Perseverance is highlighted by a yellow jersey from the Tour de France belonging to Austinite Lance Armstrong.
• Showmanship is symbolized by a performance jacket decorated with flowers worn by Tad Lucas – a trick rider who was known for her infamous "suicide drag" stunt in which she dangled from one foot as her horse twirled in circles.
• In the Swagger section, a rhinestone-covered Cadillac depicts oil wells, Longhorns, bluebonnets and yellow roses in all their Texas glory.
An exhibit catalogue featured images of the objects and their stories, along with six essays written on each of the exhibit themes by notable Texas writers, including Stephen Harrigan, Dagoberto Gilb, Elmer Kelton, Carolyn Osborn, Tom Pilkington, and Anita R. Bunkley. This catalogue is available in the Museum Store.
