It is with a heavy heart that I share Michael Duty passed away April 23, 2024, at the age of 72. Michael was diagnosed with congestive heart failure 15 years ago and stayed one step ahead of the disease until shortly before his death when his heart finally announced it was tired.

Over the last few weeks Michael reached out to friends and colleagues which led to a number of phone calls, texts, chats, emails, and reconnections. All are a testament to the life he built.

His last two weeks were at home in Georgetown, Texas which was his happy place. The weather was ideal, and he spent time on his back patio overlooking the natural setting beyond our yard. The twinkles of his eyes - his daughter, Brynne Duty; her wife, Megan Kenny; and their son Connor Kenny were here as was his dog, Lilly Belle. His sister, Glenda Anderson spent time on the patio as well. Michael's son, Jordan Duty passed away in 2012.

Michael's museum career spanned three decades starting with the Amon Carter Museum in Fort Worth, Texas where he served as that museum's first director of public relations and development. His first directing role was with the Wichita Falls Museum in his hometown of Wichita Falls, Texas. He was later named the Executive Director of the Rockwell Museum of Western Art in Corning, New York and began the Center for Western Art there.

He was the founding director of the Eiteljorg Museum in Indianapolis, Indiana and oversaw the construction and launch of the museum. While in Indianapolis, he was a co-founder of MuseumsWest, a consortium of leading museums of American Western Art and History in the United States and Canada.

He also served as executive director of the Lindsay Wildlife Experience in Walnut Creek, California followed by the California Historical Society in San Francisco, the official state historical agency of California. In 2001, Michael returned to his native Texas to become the executive director of the National Western Art Foundation in San Antonio, Texas. He served as executive director of the Dallas Historical Society in Dallas, Texas before forming Michael Duty Fine Art where he focused on consulting, lecturing, and appraising art.

The Eiteljorg was Michael's finest professional achievement as he led the team that set the vision and groundwork for a museum that explores both Native America and the American West. He was forever proud of the ongoing work and successes of the museum as the Eiteljorg continues growing its collections and hosting exhibits showcasing outstanding Indigenous and Western art as well as cultural objects.

One of Michael's other great gifts was the written word. He wrote numerous books on American Western Art. His book entitled, "The Cowboy Artists of America," won the Western Heritage Award in the art book category presented by the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum. His book, "Western Traditions: Contemporary Artists of the American West," won the best book on the Southwest award at the inaugural New Mexico Book Awards. Among his other books are "Texas Traditions: Contemporary Artists of the Lone Star State," "Under Western Skies: The Art of Bob Pummill," "Texas the Land and the Legacy: The Art of Robert Pummill," "Remington's West," "Frontier Legacy," and "Southwest Realism."

Over his career Michael organized over 60 museum exhibitions, among them, "The Art of Texas, 250 Years" at the Witte Museum in San Antonio, Texas.

Along the way Michael developed deep-seated friendships with a core group of fellow museum professionals known as the WAD. This group was officially formed through an outdoor camping experience in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado that included fishing, dogs, musing about museum experiences, and most assuredly an adult beverage or two. Over the years many emails were exchanged via the WAD-Wire and members of this group were often called upon for counsel, for fun, and for humor; some were ushers in our wedding. Michael's Mustang Mondays ran for 11 years and were tongue in cheek reports on the wins and losses of the football team at Midwestern State University, his alma mater. Run Mustangs, Run.

Michael loved being a museum director. In his final post on the WAD-Wire, Michael shared his favorite professional story which came from his time directing the Wichita Falls Museum.

"The museum was given a dinosaur footprint from Texas Electric who was building a power plant in Glen Rose, TX. At that time every second grader in the Wichita Falls School District came to the museum. We had done research on the dinosaur that made the print and had a picture and a label beside it. One day there was a class in the hall looking at the footprint and when the rest of the class moved into the galleries, one little girl stayed behind and looked around to make sure no one was there. She then put her hand in the footprint and looked at the picture of the dinosaur. Prior to that, she may not have known anything about dinosaurs but in that moment when she touched the dinosaur print, a great smile came across her face. Just then her world had gotten larger and that was a great thing."

From then on Michael tried to give everybody a chance to learn, and to grow. He felt that if he accomplished that just a few times then he would have had a successful career. I daresay a job well done.

In addition to his children and sister, Michael is survived by his wife of 22 years, Laura Duty along with close friends, colleagues who have become friends, and other professional ties.

Memorials can be made to a charity of one's choice or to the Eiteljorg Museum.