The James Museum of Western & Wildlife Art — Attraction in Saint Petersburg

We were in town for four days to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary. One of our first stops was the Chamber of Commerce to get an orientation to St. Petersburg and gather information on transportation and sightseeing. Our guide there recommended the James Museum of Western and Wildlife Art where she is a member.

While western art is not among our favorites, we are glad we visited, gaining a new appreciation and learning so much about the artists and 19th Century history. Tom and Mary James share their vast collection in this exceptional museum showcasing over 400 works of art "evoking the spirit of a wide-open frontier and the beauty of life in the wild." We had $2.00 discounted admission coupons I found in the Downtown St. Petersburg Guide and Map which is widely available. Stickers were issued to wear for entry and readmission; the James Museum is open daily. I would recommend devoting a good hour; an audio tour is available for the smart phone. After touring the museum, we stopped by the gift shop/cafe and enjoyed delicious coffee and tea - free for patrons. I bought a croissant and dressing as a pick-me-up snack. Sandwiches are also available for purchase. No paid admission is required to visit the cafe which also has a separate entrance on Central Ave. Make special note of the Western antique bar in the cafe which was discovered in San Francisco before finding its way to the James Museum.

Part of the museum experience is reading the information next to each painting and sculpture. For example, we learned that John Coleman, a famous bronze sculptor who has several pieces in the museum, studied anatomy and dance as part of his trade. There is a wonderful sculpture of his depicting Gall, Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse in the 1876 Battle of the Little Bighorn: the last battle of the American Indians. Another magnificent bronze depicts a warrior of the Crow tribe whose men wore their hair ground length and groomed with bear grease.

The paintings were as stunning as the sculpture: bold colors and vastness; light and detail. Another gallery displays pottery and jewelry from turquoise of the American Southwest. Another fascinating sculpture carved from one piece of Utah alabaster depicted "The Long Walk"/"Trail of Tears" of 1864 when 9,500 Navajo were forced to walk from their homeland in Arizona to New Mexico.

The James Museum of Western and Wildlife is perfectly located downtown on Central Avenue where visitors can catch the free Central Avenue Trolley in front and the free Downtown Looper a short walk away at the Hampton Inn & Suites. If you ride, please remember to tip your driver who is committed to safely getting you to and from your...

I would like to highly recommend this Museum. I went in with no expectation at all. When you walk into the museum you will see that this is a first class Museum and the people are all around to assist you with whatever you would need. One of the pictures I have uploaded has a scan code that you can download the tour. You can also download this at the Museum as they provide you with a Wi-Fi and password that you can use to download the tour. My recommendation is once you go up the stairs you have a choice of going left or right. I went left but it turned out that I should have gone right that way you can follow the path in the correct order. Honestly really doesn't matter but if you go right things will be more in order for you. When I went they had a Ansel Adams display which was wonderful. They also provide public drop-in tours which are 45 minute tours with one of the docents. They also have a family activity guide on the second floor Landing kids and teens will engage their senses and get creative with fun activities along the way. They also provide a mobile audio tour that highlights a variety of subjects from Native Americans to Cowboys to Wildlife from around the world. You will need a smartphone tablet or web-enabled device and they have earbuds available at the admissions desk. The museum Shop is open during regular hours and it has many items from high-end jewelry to simple postcards. They do have a very nice cafe and I would highly recommend you go in there the bar is amazing they looks like you're in an old western town. The cafe sells a variety of food and they also have some beer if you would like they just don't allow it up on the second floor of the museum. They also provide lockers on the first floor if needed. Museum parking is available on levels 3 and 4 of the automated South Gore parking garage located above the museum enter on 1st Avenue South the first hour in the garage is free in a...

The exhibits were fantastic and well presented. It was rich with history and a wonderful presentation of the first peoples. The native art was as impressive as it gets, but I am only a layman. I really enjoyed the photographs and sketches which depicted the people as they were.

Now comes the hard part. We were overtaken by the tour guide who was overly loud and a bit disjointed in her presentation. All of this would have been dismissed except for the grossly inaccurate and biased statement regarding the origin of the word “cowboy”. According to the MacMillian and Webster dictionaries the phrase does not have any racial overtones or derogatory meaning. Cowboy refers to a man or hand which handles cattle per Webster.

Per Macmillan, the term cowboy, originally written cow-boy, was first used by the author Jonathan Swift in the early 18th century to refer to a boy who looked after cows. I am fairly confident that early 18th century refers to 100+ years earlier than 1865, as the tour guide clearly stated as the origin of the word “cowboy”.

No doubt, anyone could find a degrading definition for anyone or anything if they spent the effort to disparage a particular group, at which point the question must be asked why? Is the answer is to self-validate one’s agenda regardless of the truth? Thus the tour guides biased statement is contrary to the purpose of a museum, which I thought was to enlighten.

It would be a better cultural experience to be factual and not inflammatory. Just a thought.

See the exhibits and avoid...