Beginning in 1933 and extending over an eight year period, Mr. and Mrs. Philip B. Stewart donated 320 objects, including many of Mrs. Stewart's finest blankets and silverwork. The Stewart Collection is still considered the foundation of the museum's superb Southwest Indian textile and jewelry collections.

Frances Stewart became interested in collecting Indian art in the mid nineteenth century when as a child her mother gave her a sweet grass basket made by a member of the Lake George Indians. Her interest grew to acquiring objects of historical significance. When the couple moved from the East to Colorado Springs in 1900, she became known for her desire to collect the finest Indian baskets, pottery, jewelry and textiles.

From a family of Vermont politicians, Philip Stewart was a well-known Colorado statesman during the early twentieth century and a friend and hunting companion of President Theodore Roosevelt.