January 2026 Arts + Culture Spotlight: Phippen Museum
January 2026 Arts + Culture Spotlight:
Phippen Museum
Our January partner feature is the Phippen Museum located in Prescott, or “Prescitt” as locals say. Spending summers in the late 90s and early 00s was a blessing for a city kid such as myself. Having the opportunity to explore in the cool pines when the Valley was suffering through the summer was something I will never take for granted. One thing I do regret, though, is never having explored the Phippen until I became an adult. The Prescott area in Northern Arizona is home to a number of Culture Pass partners, including Arcosanti, the Sharlott Hall Museum, and of course this month’s feature, the Phippen Museum.
Many Arizonans are unfamiliar with our state’s ranching and cowboy history, and this museum is a perfect place to become acquainted. Nestled on the top of a beautiful hill surrounded by granite boulders and Alligator Junipers, the 17,000-square-foot museum was built in 1984 in honor of artist George Phippen who was the founding artist of the Cowboy Artists of America.
This museum has a number of permanent and rotating exhibits. The History of the Cowgirl, the Arizona Rancher & Cowboy Hall of Fame, and the Western Heritage Gallery are among notable spaces to explore, but the whole museum is truly an Arizona gem filled with art and history. This month a new exhibit is opening about Hispanic Devotional Art titled Sacred Southwest. This collection “honors these rare surviving objects, preserving their beauty and the enduring faith of the people who created and cherished them on the far edge of the Spanish frontier.” The exhibit will be open from January 24 until April 5.
The Phippen is first and foremost a Western Art Museum, but it also serves as a community hub which hosts art classes weekly, workshops for adults and youth alike, and their fun monthly Art & Wine: A Perfect Pairing program which pairs a guided painting class with appetizers and wine.
Culture Passes for Phippen Museum are available in all program member libraries. The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., but as always, check their website for the most up-to-date hours and any closures.
As an arts and cultural partner of the Act One Culture Pass program, public and academic library card holders for program member libraries in Arizona may check out a pass for the Phippen Museum good for admission for two people and valid for one week upon checkout. For more information about the museum, please visit their website. For more information about Culture Pass, such as which locations are available at your local library for checkout, visit https://act1az.org/culturepass.
https://phippenartmuseum.org/
4701 Highway 89 North, Prescott, AZ, 86301 | 928.778.1385
Photography by Casimir J. Jaworski
