Wyoming State Museum exhibit celebrates Smokey Bear’s 75th birthday
CHEYENNE, Wyo. – In 2019, Smokey Bear celebrates 75 years of campaigning for wildfire prevention awareness. To commemorate the inter-agency wildfire prevention efforts that represent Smokey’s message on the ground, replicas of historic Smokey Bear portraits by artist Rudolph Wendelin are being displayed across the country in a traveling exhibit.
The Wyoming State Forestry Division and Wyoming Bureau of Land Management are honored to join the Wyoming State Museum to host this exhibit from July 15 – 27.The traveling exhibit consists of 16 replicas provided by the National Agricultural Library from their Smokey Bear Collection. Public viewing at the Wyoming State Museum will take place July 15 – 27 at 9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. each day. The Wyoming State Museum is located at 2301 Central Ave, Cheyenne, WY. Mr. Wendelin created hundreds of Smokey representations that highlighted national resource conservation and wildfire prevention. It is Wendelin’s more humanized representation of Smokey Bear that is commonly known today. Under his direction, Smokey assumed his ranger hat, jeans and shovel.
The National Agriculture Library’s Special Collections house rare books, manuscripts, nursery and seed catalogs, and photographs and posters. Their Smokey Bear Collection consists of extensive material including posters, proofs, original artwork, motion pictures, sound recordings and memorabilia. Within this collection are nineteen original Rudolph Wendelin paintings and two hand-painted replicas.
For more information about the traveling exhibit, please visit www.nal.usda.gov/exhibits/
