The Cattle Raisers Museum
inside the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History
1600 Gendy Street
www.cattleraisersmuseum.org
Photographs from Lonesome Dove by Bill Wittliff
Feb. 19 to April 17
National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame
1720 Gendy Street
Fort Worth 76107
www.cowgirl.net
Bullets and Bustles: Costumes of Lonesome Dove
Feb. 19 to April 17
The Lonesome Dove Reunion and Trail opened in downtown Fort Worth and is making its way to the Cultural District.
The Cattle Raisers Museum will be part of the Lonesome Dove Reunion and Trail next month when it opens the Photographs from Lonesome Dove by Bill Wittliff exhibit on Feb. 19.
Lonesome Dove, the CBS miniseries, aired in 1989 and was subsequently nominated and won several awards. It is a four-part adaption of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name, by Texan Larry McMurtry. Credited with revitalizing the miniseries as a format and Westerns as a viable genre, Lonesome Dove drew strong ratings in its initial showing over four nights in February of 1989. The story follows two retired Texas Ranger Captains who go on a final journey – pushing two thousand head of cattle north from the Rio Grande to Montana territory.
The Cattle Raisers Museum exhibit will feature photographs taken by Bill Wittliff, the Lonesome Dove screenwriter, who had the foresight to not only document the miniseries as it was being made through photography, but also to collect costumes, props and sketches. Wittliff shot thousands of images during the film’s production and the Wittliff Collection at Texas State University in San Marcos houses more than 200 photographs. Wittliff took these images, not as production stills, but with an artist’s eye.
“Each photograph Bill Wittliff took is a work of art,” said Pat Riley, Cattle Raisers Museum Executive Director. “As a whole exhibition, the photos provide a grand summary of the entire miniseries. Lonesome Dove fans won’t want to miss this opportunity to see these photos as a part of Fort Worth’s celebration of the Lonesome Dove Trail.”
The Cattle Raisers Museum exhibition serves as the second stop on the Lonesome Dove Trail along with the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame’s exhibit, Bullets and Bustles: Costumes of Lonesome Dove that opens at the same time. That exhibit will feature the costumes of Lonesome Dove character Captain Augustus “Gus” McCrae, Captain Woodrow F. Call, Joshua Deets, and Clara Allen. All costumes were carefully conceived by Emmy award-winning costume designer, Van Ramsey, and crafted for the filming of the TV miniseries, Lonesome Dove.
The Lonesome Dove Reunion and Trail kicked off in January and will make stops at multiple locations in Fort Worth and one venue in Albany through July 23. Exhibitions will feature costumes, props, photographs and other items on loan from the extensive Lonesome Dove Production Archive, which is permanently held at the Wittliff Collections.