SCOTTSDALE

Scottsdale Western museum explores cowboy life

Sonja Haller
The Republic | azcentral.com
Badges are part of the Hays Collection.
  • A.P. Hays Spirit of the West Collection has more than 800 Western artifacts.
  • Collection features a business card signed by movie star John Wayne.
  • Abe Hays began collecting as a teen.

Before the Internet, collecting cowboy gear could have involved travel to dusty, forgotten locales to view items inside a barn, shed or shop. Many times, the items carried a story of heartbreak or hardship.

Some of those stories and the items that embody them are found in the more than 800 saddles, spurs, guns, poker chips and other Western artifacts that are the A.P. Hays Spirit of the West Collection.

The ongoing exhibit is at the Western Spirit: Scottsdale's Museum of the West. Now open four months, the museum has attracted visitors from 22 states and six countries including journalists from Germany and Canada.

Museum Director Mike Fox declined to say the number of visitors to date but said the museum is on target to attract 100,000 in its inaugural year.

PREVIOUSLY:Scottsdale's Museum of the West opens

RELATED:Scottsdale's iconic cowboy sign has a new owner

Abe Hays' collection is important because the 3-D artifacts serve as a touchstone for people who recall the Western lifestyle of horses and cowboys or the Western movies that celebrated them.

"It's critical for a new institution to have this gift of displaying items that easily resonate with most generations of our visiting public," Fox said. "This provides us with a connection to the West that a museum such as ours would be lost without."

Abe Hays started collecting Western artifacts as a teen.

The collection includes working cowboy gear, prison-made Western items such as dyed horsehair bridles, rodeo artifacts and objects from Wild West shows.

Among the highlights is a business card signed by John Wayne, a vintage tooled leather holster from the F. Ronstadt Company (circa 1910) whose founder was the grandfather of singer Linda Ronstadt, and a collection of Texas Ranger badges from the 1890s.

Hays, 84, collected most of the pieces from the 1970s through the 1990s. He had retired from a life in public relations in Pittsburgh and moved to Scottsdale during that time, where he opened Arizona West Galleries in 1976. The museum continues to operate today on Scottsdale's Main Street and specializes in the same cowboy collectibles.

The interest in all things cowboy began in 1935 when Hays' family first visited friends who owned the Fern Mountain Ranch in Flagstaff. Hays' family would continue to drive from Pennsylvania in the Pontiac to the working ranch with horses over the years, and Hays said the Western lifestyle and lore grabbed hold. The ranch property has since been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

He wanted to keep the time, the people and the places of the rugged West close. Hays began some collecting spurs, bits and saddlebags as a teenager.

"I'm still a little boy, collecting little-boy things. It's just been a passion of mine that's stayed my whole life," he said.

Abe Hays, a former gallery owner in Scottsdale, is displaying his Western collection at Scottsdale's Museum of West.

People helped Hays find authentic items, including things like poker chips used in saloons in the 1800s, wanted posters of outlaws and federal prohibition badges. He also found items himself and spent time with Western cattlemen who helped him understand the working cowboy language, attire and life.

"They've been great teachers for me," he said.

Over the years, people asked him of his collection, "What do you think will happen? Do you think museums will ever care about this stuff?"

Hays said he always did. Some people would appreciate the quality of the items, which appear almost new. Others might appreciate the items accompanying stories — stories that held triumph and tragedy and sometimes both at once.

As he talked about the collection in the museum, he held spurs in his hand. The spurs were won by Mrs. (Maggie) Ed Wright, the victor of the world championship lady bronco busting contest in Cheyenne, Wyo. in 1917.

In the other hand was a publicity picture that Wright posed for in Denver a few days later. Shortly after the shot was taken, a horse threw her and she died.

Exhibitions

Ongoing

The A.P. Hays Spirit of the West Collection: Saddles, spurs, and other quintessentially Western items.

Courage and Crossroads: A Visual Journey through the Early American West: The American West comes to life through paintings, pottery, photography, sculpture and textiles.

Confluence of Cultures in the American West: A Selection of Contemporary Artists from the Peterson Collection: Celebrated contemporary artists on loan from collector Tim Peterson.

Heritage Hall: Inspiring images and biographical data about people who have contributed to the American West.

Continuing through Sept. 30

Process and Materiality: The Bronze Artistry of John Coleman with Erik Petersen: Magestic sculptures in bronze accompanied by photographs that show how Coleman creates his work.

Fine Art of the American West: People and Places: A diverse selection of works by artists such as Charles M. Russell, Fritz Scholder and Ed Mell.

Will James: Cowboy Artist and Author: Paintings, drawings, etchings books and more that illuminate the life of the Western American painter and writer.

Continuing through May 31, 2016

Inspirational Journey: The Story of Lewis and Clark Featuring the Artwork of Charles Fritz: Contemporary painter Charles Fritz chronicled the 19th century expedition of Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark in a series of 100 paintings.. The artworks are on loan from noted Western art collector Tim Peterson.

Upcoming

Cowboy Artists of America: 50th anniversary from Nov. 7-May 31, 2016. The retrospective exhibition features one artwork for every artist who has ever been a member of the Cowboys Artists of America.

The Hays Collection is one of several ongoing exhibits at the museum.