Bob was out riding his bike with the early birds and prairie dogs this morning. The South Shore Trail he rode on kept him on cliffs alongside the Missouri River. When he left, he told me he'd be gone a couple of hours.
However, I got a phone call from Bob. He told me he had a minor bike mishap (flat tire) and he was walking his bike two miles back to the trailhead. He said it would be a while.
The morning was quite warm, so I knew he would be hungry and thirsty when I picked him up. There was cold water in the cooler in the pickup and I brought an apple for him. He didn't send me photos of his bike ride or I would post them here.
Bob called when he got closer to the trailhead parking lot. I arrived to pick him up just in time to get a photo of him walking his bike down the trail.
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| Bob is "limping in" his bike with a flat tire. |
We made our way back to the 5th wheel where he showered and took a nap. A little later, Bob dropped me off at the C.M. Russell Museum in Great Falls. He wanted to get some work done and wasn't that excited about another museum. That was fine with me. It meant I could spend as much time as I wanted to study the art and take photos.
Charlie Russell is known as America's Cowboy Artist. Since we are in Great Falls, Montana, what museum could be better than a museum full of cowboy art? Bring it on!
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| C.M. Russell Museum. |
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| The free outdoor sculpture garden. |
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| Outdoor sculpture garden. |
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| Outdoor sculpture garden. |
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| Looking at the elk from a different angle. |
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| Door handles on the C.M. Russell Museum. |
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| It was funny to see him shooting at the restrooms! |
Happiness is finding a children's essay competition. Reading the fifth-grade essays brought a smile to my face (and added to my museum time!).
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By Jason England, West Elementary School,
Great Falls, MT. Teacher: Kristin Dehaan. |
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First Place: Allie Ray, Meadow Lake Elementary
School, Great Falls, MT. Teacher: Deborah Lins. |
The museum had works by many wonderful artists. Studying the paintings and the sculptures, I am fascinated by how an artist layers paint and use different mediums to portray the world they see around them (realism, impressionism). There are also artists who use their imagination or inspiration to create fantastical or modern art and take the medium they're working in to a whole different level.
The first gallery I visited was "Modest Yet Masterful: Small Scale Masterworks, by Charles M. Russell." I am putting in explanatory exhibit signs to give you an idea of how scholarly this museum is. You must visit it if you're into art.
The C.M. Russell Museum website describes Charlie Russell as follows:
"Charles Marion Russell (1864-1926) masterfully captured the art and soul of the American West as it was transforming before his eyes. While he fulfilled his dream of an authentic cowboy life in Montana, he was also gifting the world with his inspired visual record celebrating Indigenous culture, Western narratives, grand landscapes, and majestic wildlife scenes. While his art is considered historic, his spirit is timeless."
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"The Free Trader," by Charles M. Russell, circa 1925.
Oil on canvas. |
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| "Piegans," by Charles M. Russell. See the sign below. |
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"The Fireboat," by Charles M. Russell, 1918.
Oil on board. See the description below.
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Exhibits about Charlie Russell run the gamut from his earliest childhood sketches, through his cowboy years, and continue into the acclaim he received throughout the rest of his life. We also learn about his personal history: his marriage to his wife, building an artist studio just steps from their home, and all the travel he did.
Permanent exhibitions include:
- The Bison: American Icon
- The Josephine Trigg Collection (a life-long friend of Charlie Russell)
- Firearms, Technology, and the American West
- Charles M. Russell: the Legacy
- O.C. Seltzer: from the Mountain to the Prairie
- Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame
- Russell House and Studio
- Russell Riders (free outdoor sculpture garden)
Temporary Exhibitions:
- Artists of the Contemporary West
- Call to Glacier
- Greetings from Charlie
- The Artwork of Reinold Weiss
- Modest Yet Masterful
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| "Prairie Mothers," by O.C. Seltzer, oil. |
Here is other outstanding art in the museum galleries:
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| "Riding the Morning Light," by Arturo Padilla. |
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By Adeline Halvorsen. (I could not find the
title of this piece on Google.) |
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"I Guess We're Past Playing Hard to Get,"
by Tim Joyner, © 2022. |
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| "Chuckwagon Race 1987," by Jay Contway, bronze. |
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| A wall of miniature wagons by Dale Ford. |
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"Morning Stretch - ca. 1992," by Gerald G. Balciar,
Colorado Yule marble. |
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"Otter Slide - circa 1992,"
by Gerald G. Balciar, Colorado
Yule marble. |
Other museum exhibits include C.M. Russell's studio and home.
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The outside of C.M. Russell's studio (built
next door to their home). |
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| Inside Charlie Russell's studio. |
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| The Russell's home. |
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| This is where Nancy Russell worked. |
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This room was Charlie's studio before they
built a separate building for it. |
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| "Turning 'em North," by Jay Contway, 2022, bronze. |
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| Charles M. Russell. |
To top off our day, Bob and I had a date night planned at Sip 'n' Dip Lounge Tiki Bar. What a fun place! When we walked in, there was a guy playing music, mermaids were swimming in the tank, and the place was packed. We found one of the last tables available on the far side next to a wall.
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