State of the Art:
MONTANA
C.M. Russell Museum
400 13th Street North, Great Falls, MT 59401
(406) 727-8787, http://www.cmrussell.org
The C.M. Russell Museum is one of the
nation’s finest museums of American Western
art and the home of the most complete
collection of Charles M. Russell art and
memorabilia in the world. The permanent
collection of more than 12,000 objects also
includes the works of such well-known
artists as O.C. Seltzer, Winold Reiss, Joseph
Henry Sharp, E.E. Heikka, Eanger Irving
Couse, Olaf Wieghorst, Henry Farny and
Frank Tenney Johnson. The museum complex
includes the original Russell home where
Russell lived with his wife and business
manager Nancy, and also his studio where
the majority of his works were created.
A major upcoming event at the museum
is Return to Calgary: Charles M. Russell
and the 1919 Victory Stampede, open until
September 30. Taking place in August 1919,
the Victory Stampede marked the end of
WWI and jump-started the celebration of
Canadian Western heritage that began in
1912 and continues today. One of the major
exhibitions secured for the 1919 Stampede
was a fine arts show—24 paintings and
eight bronzes—by Russell. In this landmark
exhibition, the C.M. Russell Museum
has bought together 22 of the original 24
paintings and all eight bronzes from 15
different lenders providing guests a oncein a lifetime opportunity to see these
masterpieces displayed in the same room.
From September 7 to January 5, 2020,
is O.C. Seltzer’s West, an exhibition that
examines the prolific Western painter’s early
life and explore his maturation as an artist
on the Northern Plains of Montana. The
show will also look into his friendship with
Russell and celebrate a number of his major
works that now reside in private and public
collections.
And every March, artists, collectors and
patrons from around the country arrive in
Great Falls, Montana, for The Russell: An
Exhibition and Sale to Benefit the C.M. Russell
Museum, recognized as one of the most
prestigious Western art events in the country.Clockwise from top:
C.M. Russell Museum,
The Signal Glass, oil on
canvas,
42 x 72”, by Charles M.
Russell (1864-1926).
National Cowboy
& Western Heritage
Museum, Oklahoma
City, Charles S. Jones
Collection, museum
purchase with funding
provided by Joel McCrea.
The C.M. Russell
Museum in Great Falls,
Montana.
C.M. Russell Museum,
The Navajos, oil on
canvas, 24 x 36”, Charles
M. Russell (1864-1926).
Desert Caballeros
Western Museum,
Wickenburg, AZ; gift
of Mr. and Mrs. Aiken
Fisher. Photo © Terrence
Moore.