Events: Arizona - Phoenix - Scottsdale

Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West announced  the opening of the exhibition Charles M. Russell: The Women in His Life and Art, a significant traveling exhibition that examines the artist’s life and work through the context of the women featured in his artworks and those who encouraged his creativity and helped shape his career.

Charles M. Russell: The Women in His Life and Art includes 60 works in oil, watercolor, pen and ink and bronze that span Russell’s career from 1890 to 1926, as well as several additional works by notable artists. The exhibition is co-curated by Joan Carpenter Troccoli, Curator Emeritus at the Denver Art Museum, and Emily Crawford Wilson, Curator of the C.M. Russell Museum in Great Falls, Mont.

Building from the pioneering research of Ginger K. Renner, who wrote the 1984 publication “Charlie Russell and the Ladies in His Life,” the exhibition features predominantly female figures in its artwork and allows audiences an opportunity to view Russell’s celebrated artwork, life and career through a new contemporary lens.

In addition to highlighting the many ways in which Russell included women in his artwork, the exhibition underscores the critical role that women – such as his wife Nancy Russell and close friend Josephine Trigg – played in shaping the renowned artist’s work, as well as his cultural impact on popular perceptions of the American West.

Best known for his portrayals of the American West as a man’s world, Charles M. Russell (1864-1926) depicted a surprising number of women throughout his artistic career. Though some of Russell’s artworks depict women within the pervasive stereotypes and artistic trends of turn-of-the-century America, his representations were more nuanced and action-oriented than those of numerous contemporaries, often depicting women in an expansive range of Western roles.

An accompanying exhibition catalog will be available for purchase in the Sue and Robert Karatz Museum Store. The hardcover catalog includes full-color reproductions of artworks by Russell and insightful essays by Jennifer Bottomly-O’looney, Curator, Montana Historical Society, which lent a substantial number of key works to the exhibition; Thomas A. Petrie, Chairman of the Board of the C.M. Russell Museum; and renowned Western historian and Russell authority Brian W. Dippie.

Charles M. Russell: The Women in His Life and Art is organized by the C.M. Russell Museum, Great Falls, Mont. Presenting sponsors for the exhibition at Scottsdale’s Museum of the West are The Richard C. Adkerson Family Foundation, J.P. Morgan and Scottsdale Art Auction. The exhibition, on tour only to Scottsdale’s Museum of the West, will be available for viewing today through April 14, 2019.

A series of engaging educational and entertaining programming tied to the exhibition at Scottsdale’s Museum of the West is scheduled for early 2019. Programs will be held in the museum’s Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust Theatre/Auditorium and will be included in museum admission and free to museum members. Education sponsorship is provided by The Craig & Barbara Barrett Foundation. Program sponsorship is provided by Marcia & Hugh Ruddock and includes the following:

Of Fantasy and Fiction: C.M. Russell and the Female Form

Thursday, January 10, 2019 | 1-2 p.m.

Presented by Emily Wilson, Curator of the C.M. Russell Museum and co-curator of the Charles M. Russell exhibition, who explores Russell’s artistic influences and depictions of women within the wider cultural trends of turn-of-the-century America.

Montana PBS Film Series – C.M. Russell and the American West

Sunday, January 20, 2019 | 1-2 p.m.

Episode 1: I Got the Cream, which addresses Russell’s assimilation into the cowboy lifestyle.  

Montana PBS Film Series – C.M. Russell and the American West

Sunday, February 17, 2019 | 1-2 p.m.

Episode 2: Sum of the Parts, which focuses on Russell’s transition from cowboy to full-time artist and his marriage to Nancy Cooper.

Charlie Russell and the Iconic Imagery of the Hollywood Western

Thursday, February 21, 2019 | 1-2 p.m.

Presented by Andrew Patrick Nelson, Associate Professor of Film History and Critical Studies at Montana State University, this program illustrates Russell’s profound influence on the Hollywood Western.

Kid Gloves and Brass Knuckles: The Life of Nancy Cooper Russell

Thursday, March 7, 2019 | 11 a.m.- 12 p.m.

Presented by historical enactor, educator and storyteller Mary Jane Bradbury, provides a living history portrayal of Nancy Cooper Russell.

Montana PBS Film Series – C.M. Russell and the American West

Sunday, March 17, 2019 | 1-2 p.m.

Episode 3: My Medicine is Strong Now, examines Russell’s artistic interpretation of the Native American viewpoint and his role in creating Hollywood’s mythic vision of the West.