The “Spirit of the Wittliff in 40 Objects” exhibit includes items from Cormac McCarthy and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Here are all the details.
Nestled amid Texas State University’s campus is the historical Wittliff Collections, a museum dedicated to collecting, preserving, and presenting “the cultural heritage of Texas, the Southwest & Mexico through works of the region’s storytellers—writers, photographers, musicians, filmmakers, and other artists—to educate, engage and inspire.” Today, the museum announced that it would be celebrating its 40-year history with a new exhibit, titled “The Spirit of The Wittliff in 40 Objects.” These items have been sourced from the Texas Music Collection and Southwestern & Mexican Photography Collection (1986-2026) archives, as well as the Southwest Writers Collection archives.
A press release announcing the exhibit read, in part, “Together, these objects tell the story of The Wittliff’s mission and spirit of place — From the guitar pick used by Stevie Ray Vaughan at his last concert to correspondence between writer Elizabeth Crook and Jackie Onassis, her editor at Doubleday, the exhibit showcases the breadth and depth of The Wittliff Collections holdings of the Southwest’s most significant creative artists. Visitors may also sit at the desk where author Cormac McCarthy wrote his novels.” McCarthy is perhaps most famous for his novels “No Country for Old Men,” “The Road,” and “Blood Meridian.”
The Wittliff Collection had already doubled its McCarthy archives back in 2024. Though the author was primarily raised in Tennessee, he moved to El Paso, Texas in the 1970s, where he did most of his writing. He then moved to New Mexico in the 1990s and lived there until his death in 2023.
What else is on display at the Wittliff?
Prior to announcing the “Spirt of the Wittliff in 40 Objects” exhibit, the Wittliff Collections released a statement in October 2025 saying it had acquired the creative archives of Taylor Sheridan, co-creator of popular television series “Yellowstone,” “Landman,” “Tulsa King,” and “Mayor of Kingstown.” Sheridan has also worked as a screenwriter, penning films like “Wind River,” “Sicario,” and “Those Who Wish Me Dead.”
On display through December 2026, “The Selena Effect” pays homage to the iconic Selena Quintanilla Pérez, who was a Texas native. The Queen of Tejano Music was known for her cultural impact, and the collection “celebrates Selena’s enduring appeal and relevance to future generations with photographs by her former publicist, music historian Ramon Hernández, renowned photographers Al Rendon, John Dyer, Scott Newton and Sylvia Reyes; art pieces by David Zamora Casas, Marc Burckhardt and Sara Hickman; and original Selena fashion sketches, outfits, fashion accessories and a diary from her close friend and fashion designer Martin Gomez.” More information on the Selena collection can be found here.
A permanent exhibit dedicated to “Lonesome Dove,” the Emmy-winning television series based on the novel of the same name by author Larry McMurtry, is also on view. Costumes, sketches, and memorabilia—including items used by actor Robert Duvall, who died on February 15—showcase the rich history of the popular program. As noted on the Wittliff website, this exhibit “takes visitors behind the scenes of the Emmy-winning miniseries, with a look at props and principal costumes, set designs, costume sketches and production notes, continuity Polaroids, Bill Wittliff’s screenplay drafts, script pages, and his photographs.”
The Wittliff Collections is free to visit. Click here for its operating hours and additional information.
