The museum’s articles of incorporation and bylaws were adopted in the fall of 1961, and a Board of Trustees was appointed. In their early discussions, Wilder and the board decided that the museum’s programs and permanent collection should reflect many aspects of American culture, both historic and contemporary. This decision paved the way for an expansion of the permanent collection that first focused on acquiring American art from the nineteenth-century and, later, the twentieth. Under Wilder’s guidance, the museum collected heavily in the areas of nineteenth-century American art and photography. Wilder also established an academic publishing presence and built a record of organizing groundbreaking exhibitions. The museum published "Paper Talk: The Illustrated Letters of Charles M. Russell" in 1962, the first of many books on the art of the American West to originate from the Amon Carter. In 1966, Wilder reintroduced the paintings of Georgia O'Keeffe (1887–1986) to the nation by organizing a ninety-five piece retrospective of her work.