by The size-96 cowboy boots will be displayed in an exhibit on state fairs, opening Aug. 22
DALLAS – The iconic, size-96 boots of Big Tex are leaving the state of Texas for only the second time in history.
The cowboy boots will be on display at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington D.C., according to a news release, as part of an upcoming exhibition on state fairs across the nation.
The exhibition, “State Fairs: Growing American Craft,” opens Aug. 22 and examines how state fairs across the U.S. help artists express personal stories and embrace cultural traditions.
It will showcase 240 works from fairs across the nation, according to the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s website, ranging from the mid-nineteenth century to the present day.
Big Tex’s boots will be shown alongside other state fair spectacles, including a life-sized cow-shaped butter sculpture from Iowa, as well as a pyramid made out of 700 jars of preserved fruits and vegetables.
The exhibit runs through September 7, 2026, but the Texas Department of Agriculture said the boots will return to the fairgrounds in time for the start of this year’s fair on Sept. 26.
The 12-foot-tall pair of boots to be displayed were made in 2012 after an electrical fire destroyed the first pair.
The last time any pair of Big Tex’s boots left the state was in 1953, according to the Department of Agriculture, for a national Jaycees convention in Minneapolis.
The boots left the Lone Star State on Monday, and are expected to arrive in D.C. on Friday.
