Alexandra Baum

Go Inside the $12 Million Expansion of Scottsdale’s Western Spirit Museum Celebrating the Art, People and Enduring Story of the American West

In the heart of Old Town Scottsdale, where contemporary architecture, celebrated galleries and the rugged beauty of the Sonoran Desert converge, one of Arizona’s most distinctive cultural institutions is entering a remarkable new chapter.

Western Spirit Museum has unveiled the Louis Sands IV Center, a $12 million, two-story expansion that adds 12,000 square feet and four major exhibitions to the Smithsonian Affiliate. Now encompassing 55,000 square feet, the museum is strengthening Scottsdale’s reputation as an international destination for Western American and American Indian art while creating new ways for visitors to experience the stories that have shaped Arizona and the North American West.

The expansion was made possible through a $12 million gift from the family of the late Louis “Buzz” Sands IV, a prominent Arizona businessman and philanthropist. Designed by Phoenix-based Studio Ma and constructed by CORE Construction, the project took approximately three years to complete. 

Its March debut became a celebration of Arizona history and culture, attracting more than 5,000 visitors during opening festivities. Scottsdale Mayor Lisa Borowsky also proclaimed March 24 “Western Spirit Day.”

“The Louis Sands IV Center allows us to tell the story of the West in a new, more expansive way, placing painting, sculpture, jewelry, and ceramics into conversation across two floors,” says Andrew Patrick Nelson, PhD, Western Spirit’s Chief Curator. “Together, these exhibitions reflect the richness and continuing vitality of Western and Indigenous art.”

Three exhibitions on the center’s main gallery level explore the West through some of its most evocative materials: bronze, silver, turquoise, stone and clay.

Visions in Bronze examines more than a century of Western sculpture, from Frederic Remington and Charles M. Russell to contemporary American Indian and women artists. Through bronze, generations of artists have shaped enduring images of cowboys, mountain men, American Indians and other figures associated with the frontier.

Nearby, From Earth to the Stars presents an extraordinary exploration of American Indian jewelry and the relationship between artistry, identity and the natural world. Masterworks by Preston Monongye, Jesse Monongya, Charles Loloma, Verma Nequatewa (Sonwai) and members of the Yazzie family illustrate how silver, turquoise and stone have been transformed across generations into objects of remarkable beauty and cultural significance.

Fire of Ages spans more than six centuries of American Indian ceramic traditions, highlighting the artistry of Hopi and Southwestern potters. Historic works and later innovations reveal a living artistic tradition in which techniques are preserved, reinvented and passed from one generation to another. 

“Moving through these galleries, visitors encounter bronze, silver, and clay as a continuous story of land, labor, and imagination,” Nelson says.

Upstairs, the Arizona connection becomes even more personal.

Working Pardners: Masterworks from the Eddie Basha Collection presents works drawn entirely from the collection assembled by the late Arizona businessman, philanthropist and passionate champion of Western art Eddie Basha.

The exhibition includes paintings, sculptures, prints, carvings and works on paper by acclaimed artists including Joe Beeler, David Johns, Larry Yazzie, Martin Grelle, Howard Terpning, James Reynolds, Bill Owen and Ken Riley. Together, they reflect Basha’s lifelong appreciation for the West, its artists and the relationships that sustain creative communities.

“Working Pardners reflects the depth of Eddie’s partnerships with artists,” says Associate Curator Tammy Fontaine. “This exhibition gives visitors a rare opportunity to experience his love for the West, its land, and its people.” 

Western Spirit is also introducing a more intimate way to experience the expansion.

Through Unmistakably West: Inside the Expansion, private groups can explore the galleries through specially guided experiences, including curator-led visits offering insight into how collections were assembled, the significance of individual works and the curatorial decisions behind each exhibition.

For guests seeking an elevated experience, the museum also offers private or after-hours access accompanied by a curator-led visit and reception in the Sculpture Garden or lobby, with Champagne and light charcuterie—transforming a museum visit into an intimate cultural occasion.

For collectors, private groups, cultural organizations or Arizona residents entertaining out-of-town guests, the experience offers something increasingly valuable: access not simply to extraordinary art, but to the stories behind it. 

“This new addition to Western Spirit marks a transformative chapter in how we tell the story of the North American West,” says Western Spirit Museum CEO Todd Bankofier.

In a city renowned for exceptional homes, resorts, restaurants and galleries, Western Spirit offers another expression of luxury—the opportunity to slow down, look closely and connect with exceptional art and the people, landscapes and traditions behind it.

The Louis Sands IV Center ultimately reminds visitors that the West is not merely something to remember.

In Arizona, it remains very much alive.

The Greatest Living Painter of the Grand Canyon

Widely recognized as the greatest living painter of the Grand Canyon, Curt Walters has devoted five decades to capturing one of the world’s most challenging subjects, which is also one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. 

From intimate 20-inch studies to monumental canvases exceeding six feet, Walters’ works showcase his profound understanding of light, geology, and the ever-changing moods of the American Southwest.  

Walters was born in New Mexico and raised in the Four Corners region, which is where he developed his appreciation of and eye for dramatic landscapes. In 1974, he moved to Taos, where he began working and studying with artists of the Central Valley, including the well-known landscape painter Wilson Hurley.

In 1979, Walters established his studio in Sedona, due in part to its proximity to the Grand Canyon. Throughout the 1980’s Walters experimented with different styles, first working in a pointillist technique before moving to large textural plein air work around mid-decade and then a soft-gossamer period. 

A decade after he opened his studio, Sedona Arts Center gave Walters his first one-man show in 1989, which focused mostly on his plein air paintings of Oak Creek. The following year, Walters began creating artwork with intense colors and thick impasto. Throughout the 1990’s, he strived to go outside each day and paint, as he felt an artist is able to find their voice when painting from life. A trip to Paris in 1990 also helped broaden the scope of his work, as well as his knowledge about art.

Walters achieved a number of career highlights in the 1990’s, including several one-man shows at Trailside Galleries in Scottsdale and Carmel, at The Jones Gallery in La Jolla, California, and at Linda McAdoo Gallery and Altermann Galleries in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Walters was also recognized in the 1990’s by being invited to his first prestigious museum shows, including Artists of America and Prix de West Invitational at the National Cowboy Museum. His first major award was the Buyer’s Choice at his first Prix de West, in 1998. This was followed by two additional Buyer’s Choice awards in 1999 at the Autry Masters Invitational in Los Angeles, and at the Artist of America in Denver. In addition, First Touch of Winter won the Frederic Remington Award at Prix de West in 2013, and Inexorable Shiprock received the Buyer’s Choice Award at Prix de West in 2022. 

Walters’ decades of painting on location at the Grand Canyon also led him to conservation advocacy. During the 1990’s his paintings started to reflect his environmental concerns with regard to the Grand Canyon. His reverence for the Grand Canyon is not only documented through his body of art, but also in his dedication to preserving Arizona’s National Treasure. 

The Grand Canyon Trust gave Walters a tangible way to focus his energy and skill for the conservation of Grand Canyon and the Colorado Plateau. One notable adventure took place in September of 1999, when Walter and the Trust organized an expedition where he led 14 of his contemporaries on a 10-day painting journey down the Colorado River. 

Several paintings from this trip were sold at the Forbes Magazine Galleries, in New York and San Francisco, as a fundraiser for the Trust. He has also served as Board Member for The Grand Canyon Foundation. To date, Walters has raised more than half a million dollars for the Grand Canyon Trust and serves as an honorary board member of the Grand Canyon Foundation. 

Recently, Walters released a book, Resilience: The Life History and Grand Canyon Art of Curt Walters, which is a comprehensive survey of the artist’s career. 

Walters’ art is held in the permanent collections of numerous museums and distinguished private collections. His paintings can be seen at a number of museums, including a collection that was recently featured at Western Spirit Museum in Scottsdale. Current exhibits include the Claggett Rey Galleries in Edwards, Colorado and at the Nedra Matteucci Galleries in Santa Fe.

The Extraordinary Story of Boyce Thompson and His Arboretum

Every year, around 150,000 people visit Boyce Thompson Arboretum in Superior. The arboretum, which is Arizona’s oldest and largest botanical garden, was established in 1924 by Colonel William Boyce Thompson.

Interestingly, plants were not Thompson’s first love. Thompson, who was also an American engineer, financier, and philanthropist, earned his fortune in the mining industry.

The mining magnate, who lived from 1869 to 1930, was born in Alder Gulch, Montana. After a stint at an eastern prep school, Thompson finished his educational efforts with a short stay at the Columbia School of Mines.

In 1899, Thompson began promoting mining companies, starting in 1904 with the Shannon Mine near Clifton. Next, he raised funds for the financing of the original 6,000-ton mill at Bingham Canyon and formed the Nevada Consolidated and Cumberland Ely Copper Companies. He was also the founder and first president of Inspiration Consolidated Copper Company in Globe-Miami and Magma Copper Company in Superior.

Thompson’s passion for plants and plant science was inspired by visits to Russia, both prior to the Revolution and in 1918, just after the Russian Revolution. These trips changed his life and how he to came to view plants.

As a member of an American Red Cross relief mission, Thompson saw rampant crop failure and starvation in Russia and witnessed firsthand the way the Russian people were suffering as a result of food shortages.

These experiences had a deep impact on Thompson, and convinced him that agriculture, food supply, and social justice are linked to global survival. This firm belief, along with his faith in science, helped to shape his philanthropic projects around plants and plant science.

In the early 1920’s, Thompson, who was by then enamored with the scenic landscape around Superior, built a winter home named the Picket Post House which overlooked Queen Creek. In 1924 he founded the Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research in Yonkers, New York  – which is now located at Cornell University in Ithaca. Thompson endowed the Institute with $10 million, which was a massive fortune at the time. He hoped that the money would allow the institute to acquire the very best scientists, equipment, and supplies and then to develop relationships with industry and the government to help finance research.

The same year, Thompson founded the Boyce Thompson Arboretum on 400 acres around the Picket Post House, in Queen Creek Canyon. The Mediterranean style home is occasionally open for tours through the arboretum. He established the arboretum as a “living museum” and research facility that is dedicated to arid-land plants. In 1925, construction began on the historic stone Smith Building to serve as a lab, greenhouse and visitor center. 

In 1929, the arboretum was officially dedicated. Today, it is home to  collections of desert plants from around the world, including  plants from the United States, Mexico, Australia, Madagascar, India, China, Japan, Israel, South America, the Middle East, Africa, the Mediterranean, and the Arabian Peninsula. In all, 3,900 taxa and 19,000 plants are found within 135 acres of gardens, including nationally accredited collections of eucalyptus, legumes, and desert oaks. 

Boyce Thompson Arboretum celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2024. Over the last century, it has maintained and honored Thompson’s original focus on conversation, education and research. 

Arizona may be best known for its desert landscapes, saguaros and seemingly endless sunshine, but head north from Phoenix and you’ll discover another side of the state: wine country.

Northern Arizona’s Verde Valley has developed into a destination for wine lovers, with vineyards and tasting rooms scattered throughout Cottonwood, Cornville, Clarkdale, Jerome and Sedona. The Verde Valley is even a federally designated American Viticultural Area (AVA), recognizing the region’s unique growing conditions and wine-producing identity.

Whether you want to sip wine overlooking a vineyard, spend an afternoon along a creek or pair a tasting with a stroll through one of Arizona’s most historic towns, these five destinations – along with many others along the Verde Valley Wine Trail – offer distinctly different ways to experience Northern Arizona wine country.

Page Springs Cellars — Cornville, AZ

One of the best-known destinations for wine in the Verde Valley is Page Springs Cellars, which combines wine tasting with the kind of setting that makes you want to linger for the afternoon. Think: a Napa experience but in Arizona. 

The winery, which is located just outside Sedona, sits along Oak Creek and is surrounded by vineyards and the high-desert landscape. Visitors can sample their Arizona wines that pair nicely with the kitchen and bistro menu, featuring food items like gourmet snacks, truffle kettle chips, tacos, and charcuterie boards. The relaxed wine-country atmosphere also caters to papered pets on the patio. 

It is an idyllic choice for those who want the full vineyard experience rather than simply stopping into a tasting room.

Note: they recently won Best of Class at the 2026 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition for its 2024 Super Arizona, a Sangiovese-leading red blend.

• 1500 N. Page Springs Road, Cornville
• www.pagespringscellars.com 

D.A. Ranch — Cornville, AZ

For a wine-tasting experience that feels a little like escaping to a private country estate, head to DA Ranch.

The family-owned estate vineyard set on roughly 170-acres of high-desert ranch is tucked into the Page Springs area of the Verde Valley and is known as much for its pastoral surroundings as its wine. Guests can settle in around the property’s pond and green spaces, sip wine outdoors and, depending on when they visit, catch live music.

The ranch setting gives D.A. Ranch a decidedly different personality from the tasting rooms in nearby Cottonwood and Jerome. It’s an easy place to slow down and enjoy wines, which are all made from grapes grown on the estate, including its fan-favorite Gertrude Syrah Reserve, named for pioneering ranch owner Gertrude Gates. Another perennial favorite, Red Barn Red, takes its name from the property’s signature barn.

Visitors can order flights, glasses or bottles, catch live music, enjoy weekend food trucks or book a guided walk through the vineyard that includes tastings of four wines.

• 1900 Dancing Apache Road, Cornville
• www.daranch.com 

Alcantara Vineyards — Camp Verde, AZ

Set near the confluence of the Verde River and Oak Creek, Alcantara Vineyards and Winery is one of the area’s true destination wineries.

The vineyard’s picturesque setting is a major part of the experience, with rows of vines, river scenery and plenty of space to explore. With more than 20,000 vines planted, encompassing 17 grape varietals, visitors can arrange a private vineyard and winery experience with winemaker Ron Brumley that includes a walk through the vineyard, cellar presentation, wine tasting and barrel tasting.

Alcantara also stands out for offering experiences beyond simply sipping wine. Live music and other activities are regularly part of the mix, along with opportunities like kayaking down the Verde River and arriving at Alcantara’s private beach or booking a horse-back ride across the vineyard and riding up Marsanne Hill for views of Mingus Mountain. 

• 3445 S. Grapevine Way, Camp Verde, AZ
• www.alcantaravineyard.com 

Merkin Vineyards Hilltop Winery & Trattoria — Cottonwood, AZ

Wine tasting gets paired with sweeping Verde Valley views and a full meal at the newly opened Merkin Vineyards Hilltop Winery & Trattoria.

Perched above Old Town Cottonwood, Merkin is the creation of musician and Arizona winemaker Maynard James Keenan, known best as the Lead Singer of Tool. His newest destination combines a winery and tasting experience with a trattoria, making it an ideal stop around lunch or dinner.

Wine flights can be paired with dishes showcasing the region’s agricultural bounty, while the hilltop location provides another reason to stick around. Merkin also offers guided experiences that can take visitors beyond the dining room to learn more about its winemaking operation.

Afterward, head down into Old Town Cottonwood, where numerous additional tasting rooms are within walking distance of one another.

Note:Merkin Vineyards Trattoria was named Best Restaurant (Small Market) in PHOENIX magazine’s 2026 Arizona Travel Awards.

• 770 N. Verde Heights Drive, Cottonwood
• www.merkintrattoria.com 

Caduceus Cellars — Jerome, AZ

Wine isn’t the only reason to make the winding drive up to historic Jerome. Perched 5,000 feet above sea level, overlooking the Verde Valley, Caduceus Cellars and Merkin Vineyards Tasting Room – located right on Main Street – offers the opportunity to sample Arizona wines in one of the state’s most unusual destinations. Also founded by Maynard James Keenan, Caduceus focuses on wines influenced by Spanish and Italian varietals grown in Arizona’s high-elevation terrain.

The tasting room’s location makes it easy to turn a wine tasting into a full day in Jerome. After a flight, explore the former mining town’s historic buildings, galleries, shops, haunted locales (shown via local ghost tours) and hillside streets while taking in expansive views across the Verde Valley.

• 158 Main St., Jerome
• www.caduceus.org 

With 20+ vineyards and tasting rooms along the Verde Valley Wine Trail, along with historic towns, mountain scenery and dozens of tasting opportunities, Northern Arizona offers far more than a quick glass of wine; it’s a wine lovers destination. 

Inside Arizona’s Passion for Extraordinary Automobiles

In Arizona, some of the most impressive rooms in a luxury home aren’t kitchens, wine cellars or primary suites.

They’re garages.

Walk through homes in Paradise Valley, Scottsdale and other luxury enclaves across the state and you may find garages designed to house collections worth as much as another home itself. Ferraris parked alongside Porsches, vintage classics sharing space with the latest supercars, and custom garages that look more like private showrooms.

Where Cars Are Part of the Lifestyle

Arizona’s car culture comes in many forms. There are weekend car shows, collector clubs and early-morning gatherings where enthusiasts arrive with everything from restored classics to the latest European exotics.

Then, of course, there are the collector car auctions that turn the Scottsdale area into an international automotive destination each January.

For luxury homeowners, that passion is increasingly reflected at home.

Garages have evolved beyond places to simply park the family cars. In some of Arizona’s high-end homes, they are extensions of the living space, with room for multiple vehicles, specialty lighting, polished floors, climate-conscious features, lifts and glass-enclosed display areas designed to showcase prized automobiles.

For serious collectors shopping for a home, garage space can be as important as the kitchen, backyard and poolside views.

And in Arizona, there is another issue collectors have to think about: protecting those vehicles from the desert itself.

Protecting a Prized Possession

Arizona’s abundant sunshine may make it a dream destination for drivers, but it can be considerably harder on the cars themselves.

Matthew Stecker, founder of Scottsdale-based Rogue Films, has spent more than 30 years in the automotive film industry. His company specializes in luxury automotive protection, window tinting, ceramic coatings and paint-protection film and has worked with more than 6,000 clients across Arizona.

With Arizona attracting an increasingly passionate community of luxury and collector-car owners, protecting these prized vehicles from the desert environment has become part of ownership. Stecker says protection today goes well beyond keeping a car looking pristine. The nano-ceramic films used by Rogue Films, for example, are designed to block infrared heat and 99.9% of UVA and UVB rays, helping shield interiors from Arizona’s intense sun while keeping cabin temperatures lower.

For an everyday vehicle, those benefits can make Arizona driving more comfortable. For a rare, exotic or collectible automobile, protecting the vehicle’s paint and interior can take on even greater importance.

The Garage as a Showroom

The homes built for Arizona’s car enthusiasts can be nearly as impressive as the vehicles parked inside them.

Luxury properties throughout Paradise Valley and Scottsdale increasingly offer expansive garages capable of accommodating multiple cars, while some take the concept even further with spaces designed specifically around collectors.

“For many luxury buyers in Arizona, the garage has become an extension of the home,” said Todd Gillenwater, Owner and CEO of Russ Lyon Sotheby’s International Realty. “A three- or four-car garage may be just the beginning. We’ve represented properties designed for five, 10, 15 and even 20 or more vehicles, with everything from lifts and climate control to dedicated showrooms. For a serious collector, finding the right home can be just as much about where they’re going to keep their cars as where they’re going to live.” 

For a passionate collector, that can change the homebuying equation. A beautiful view may capture someone’s attention, but having a secure, functional and attractive place for a collection can be the feature that makes a property feel like home.

It’s also one of the few areas of a luxury residence where practicality and passion intersect. A collector needs space to maneuver cars, adequate storage and protection from Arizona’s elements. But when the garage is also designed as a place to admire the collection, entertain friends or simply spend time surrounded by cars, it becomes something entirely different.

Arizona’s Automotive Playground

Part of what makes Arizona’s automotive culture distinctive is that dry weather and sunshine create opportunities to drive for much of the year, whether that’s a Saturday morning cruise through Scottsdale, a drive toward Bartlett Lake or a winding trip into the mountains.

Auctions, shows, rallies, clubs and informal gatherings also give collectors plenty of opportunities to share vehicles that might otherwise spend most of their lives behind garage doors.

That passion extends to places like APEX Motor Club in Maricopa, a private motor sports club where members can take their cars onto purpose-built racing circuits, receive driving instruction and even own trackside garages; creating a country-club-style community built around automobiles.

The combination of exceptional cars, beautiful homes and a lifestyle that gives owners opportunities to actually enjoy them helps explain why automobiles have become such a visible part of Arizona luxury.

Here, the dream garage isn’t simply a place to park. For the right homeowner, it’s the room that holds the best view in the house.