Women of the West Featured in “Father of Western Art” Charles M. Russell Traveling Exhibition with Final Showing at Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Nov. 24 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West announced today 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.

“What a great tribute this exhibition is to the late Paradise Valley resident, Ginger Renner, who as a staunch supporter of this museum was both instrumental in the development of the C.M. Russell Museum, as well as — for decades — the study and promotion of art of the American West,” said Mike Fox, Director and CEO at Scottsdale’s Museum of the West. “To have this phenomenal selection of artwork and research available to our visitors is another wonderful milestone for our museum and for Scottsdale. We thank both the C.M. Russell Museum and our many sponsors for their partnership in bringing this powerful exhibition to our institution and community.”

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.

“The authenticity and historical accuracy of Russell’s artwork is evident in his portrayals of women, and most notably Native American women, as he depicted their duties and responsibilities of their everyday lives, which ranged from moving teepees to caring for children,” commented Dr. Tricia Loscher, Assistant Museum Director: Collections, Exhibitions, and Research at Scottsdale’s Museum of the West. “We are honored to have the opportunity to bring this exhibition from the C.M. Russell Museum to Scottsdale’s Museum of the West, and to share with our visitors from around the world the rich stories that pay homage to the women of the past, as well as of today. Their lives and diverse cultural backgrounds help us better appreciate the unique world in which we live.”

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.

“This exhibition is a powerful testament to not only Ginger Renner’s trailblazing research, but to the importance of re-examining the role of women in Western Art,” said Emily Crawford Wilson, Curator of the C.M. Russell Museum and co-curator of the exhibition. “Through this contemporary take on Russell’s artwork, and by sharing this exhibition with Scottsdale’s Museum of the West, we can further illuminate the historical significance and influence of Charles M. Russell’s artwork.”

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.

“We are pleased to have been able to view Ginger Renner’s pioneering perspective on Russell and the women who figured in his life and art through a contemporary lens,” commented Joan Carpenter Troccoli, Curator Emeritus at the Denver Art Museum. “No other male artist of the American West so openly acknowledged the contributions real-life women made to his career, and none of his peers portrayed so many women so sympathetically in their work. Although Russell’s presentation of women reflects 19th century beliefs about women’s restricted place in society, it encourages us to dig deeper and explore the full extent of women’s contributions to the history of the West.”

An accompanying exhibition catalog is available for purchase in the Sue and Robert Karatz Museum Store at Scottsdale’s Museum of the West. 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.

Dedicated to telling stories of the Greater Western Region with both permanent and rotating exhibitions, this is the third of eight new exhibitions coming to three-year-old Scottsdale’s Museum of the West, a Smithsonian Affiliate, in the 2018-19 season. New Acquisitions from the Herberger Collection launched in Sept. and New Beginnings: An American Story of Romantics and Modernists in the West with its fresh take on Western art opened in Oct. Five more exhibition openings are forthcoming through Nov. 2019.