American Museum of Western Art - The Anschutz Collection — Attraction in Denver

I had an hour to kill before heading out of Denver in a work trip. I thought what better way to kill an hour than to look at some beautiful original western art? Unfortunately my illusion that Denver simply didn't have a single horrible person was shattered. Upon entering it was made explicitly clear that there are no pictures to be taken of the art on floor 2, 3 an 4... odd, but no problem! We were warmly welcomed and given our audio device for self guided tour. After exiting the elevator to floor 2 to begin viewing art we were greeted with some beautiful and grand pieces. There were a few that really caught my eye and it was disappointing I couldn't capture the piece to share with friends back home. I was also unable to capture the names to do my research later. This felt very unusual and backwards to me, but again...we are guests looking at a private collection with its own rules...no problem! I noticed another patron above and greeted them with a smile and nod. The glare I received back was cold and seemed odd for someone who was enjoying beautiful art. We entered the staircase for the first time to proceed to floor 3. I noticed the beauty and size of the stairs and skylight above and stopped to admire. At this moment, looking down the descending staircase, I pulled out my phone to capture a picture of the stairs dropping down. Almost immediately I was startled by a loud bang in the glass behind my head. I turned and realized I was being scolded by whom I thought was a patron. She proceeded to shake her head and loudly (in a very quiet setting) say "NO PICTURES, NO PICTURES, NO PICTURES!!". After being startled looking down a staircase (nice) I couldn't even get out an apology and offer to delete the picture. I made an honest mistake and instantly felt terrible. It wasn't made clear to me that there were 0 pictures to be taken anywhere after leaving the reception area. Nevertheless it was my mistake and misunderstanding and I was happy to fix it. I never got that opportunity and had to insist on getting the name of the woman who had her meltdown before she would give it to me. Jeannette is the name of the woman who missed her calling as a Marine Drill Seargeant or perhaps Prison Guard. She is easy to spot as she was the one looking miserable and the only one wearing a mask in a massive building of 5+ floors and 4-6 people. I was appalled at best and disgusted at worst. Unfortunately between managing the awful downtown traffic, parking and hostile nature of Jeannette....it just wasn't worth the experience. Even at $5. I would recommend the museum of art instead if you have time to kill. It was much more professional, had much more to see and they were happy to let you capture anything you wanted for a home momento. If you find yourself in the area and must visit this place, I would recommend the self guided tour. It was very informative and you didn't have to interact with anyone. It made for a quiet and good experience until it was ruined and I left feeling like I had committed a crime. I still stopped at the front desk, apologized for my error, showed them the picture I took, and happily deleted it for them. I told them I was shocked that I was treated as though I had committed a crime or broke the law. The response by the once warm welcomer was "You did." The illusion was just that....there are truly awful and miserable people everywhere, waiting for their opportunity for...

My wife and I showed up rather excited to visit the American Museum of Western Art on our short stop in Denver but were turned away at the door for one reason: we were foolish enough to bring our 3-week old son with us! (insert gasp here) As a disclaimer, we know now that children under 8 are prohibited from the museum and we now see that information buried on their site. I have a few things to say about that though. First, we did visit the website before going. We read about entrance fees, hours of operation, current exhibitions and the like. We did not, however, snoop around looking for a prohibition on children because in the dozens of museums my wife and I have visited around the world, this is the first time we have ever heard of a ban on children. We didn't look for that information because we have never heard of such a moronic policy. Real art in real museums is treated like a public good to be consumed by all. Second, although we understand that these people believe their pencil drawings of conestoga wagons are very unique and special (insert laughter here), we have a hard time figuring out what kind of trouble a 3-week old can get into from his stroller. He can't even lift his head, but watch out all you water colored bison! Finally, and most shocking, was the terrible attitude that greeted us at the door. An elderly gentlemen/employee apparently saw us rolling the stroller up to the door because he popped out to stop us before we could intrude and curtly stated, "We don't allow kids." No sorry, or a smile and statement of regret. No explanation or even a "hey, did you get a chance to read that on our website?" Just a straight-faced "get the f*$& out" by some cantankerous old coot at the door. Good riddance you joke...

We attempted to visit during a trip to Denver and walked there from a restaurant. Upon arriving a few minutes after 2:00 PM we were told that the last self-guided tour was at 2:00 PM due to a special event. This was not posted anywhere on their website hours or on the hours posted on Google. The older white gentleman with a beard and a younger girl with a scarf in her hair were extremely rude and pretentious. When we explained we only had a short amount of time because we had a plane to catch they were completely unsympathetic especially considering how ridiculous it was that we were only a couple minutes past. After leaving we double checked their website and all we could see posted was that we had to be there by four. When I called back and explained my frustration and also suggested that they update their website since it is inaccurate I was told that I was incorrect but that she didn't want to argue with me and that she was disappointed that we were unsatisfied with our visit in a flippant, condescending, and sarcastic tone. She then stated that a special event was posted on the calendar. Who doublechecks a Calendar for a facility if the hours are posted on the first page? I since looked at their calendar and again found NOTHING about shortened hours. We were treated poorly and if their rules are so rigid and there are no exceptions for entry after 2 o'clock then perhaps they should make that clear on their website or at least be nice about it. It was such a bad experience that I would never go back there. We only had an hour at the most to look in the museum anyway. I'm sure people who came well before 2 o'clock will be there later than we would have even stayed. They need to work on their customer service and also having an...