The renovation covers about 700 square feet of renovated space and expands the museum’s exhibition capacity.
SAN ANTONIO — The Briscoe Western Art Museum has completed a major renovation in downtown San Antonio, adding new gallery space and an immersive digital experience designed to give visitors a new way to explore the American West.
The transformation centers around the new Valerie Urschel Guenther Four Pillars Gallery, which serves as a new entry point for visitors and introduces the museum’s interpretation of Western art through four themes: Wildlife & The Land, Native People of the Americas, Tejanos, Vaqueros & Spanish Heritage, and Cowboys & The American Frontier.
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The renovated space includes the Linda Whitacre Orientation Theater, where visitors can watch “Beyond the Frontier: Four Pillars of Western Art,” which is a 14-minute cinematic experience projected across a nearly 20-foot LED wall.
The experience incorporates 85 works of art from the Briscoe’s collection and other collections, combining them with archival imagery, animation, motion graphics, narration, music and sound.
The massive digital canvas allows paintings to expand beyond their original frames, highlighting details that could be difficult to see at their original size.
“A landscape can suddenly surround you,” Briscoe President and CEO Liz Jackson said in a statement. “A detail that may be only inches wide can become several feet tall.”
The goal, she said, isn’t to replace the museum’s original artwork but to encourage visitors to seek out those pieces in the galleries and look at them differently.
The Four Pillars framework also puts a greater emphasis on the Spanish and Mexican roots of Western ranching and horsemanship, highlighting the influence of Tejanos and vaqueros on the American cowboy.
More space, refreshed galleries
The renovation covers about 700 square feet of renovated space and expands the museum’s exhibition capacity inside its historic building, which once housed San Antonio’s Public Library.
The new Four Pillars Gallery is next to the Theresa Guenther New Works Gallery and a new West Gallery.
The changes give the Briscoe more room to display pieces from its collection and host temporary exhibitions while creating a more connected visitor experience throughout the first floor.
The museum has also refreshed its Women of the West Gallery. That space will reopen Oct. 15 with “Kathy Sosa: Revolutionary Women of Texas and Mexico,” featuring more than 30 paintings, mixed-media works and sculptures by San Antonio artist Kathy Sosa.
The exhibition focuses on women who helped shape Texas, Mexico and the American West and will be on display through June 14, 2027.
The renovation comes as the Briscoe continues to highlight its expanded interpretation of Western history through exhibitions including “Tejano Legacy: Another American Origin Story,” which explores nearly 400 years of Tejano history, culture and influence.
The museum is located along the River Walk near La Villita in downtown San Antonio. The Briscoe is open Thursday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Friday through Monday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. It is closed to the public on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.