“The Bison” celebrates and explores iconic critter
Published: November 17, 2008
The bison are scheduled to roam once again at the C.M. Russell Museum in Great Falls, and this time they are sticking around for the new permanent installation, “The Bison: American Icon, Heart of Plains Indian Culture,” which opens in December to much fanfare.
“The Bison” fills three galleries (including one new space) with some 500 objects, including such Northern Plains Indian artifacts as clothing, regalia, tools and weapons, and two- and three-dimensional works by Charles Russell and his contemporaries.
According to museum CEO Anne Morand, nearly 75 percent of the Russell’s entire collection of paintings, sculpture and works on paper depicts bison and American Indians, including 700 examples of American Indian art that has mostly remained in storage and never been exhibited.
The exhibition examines the culture of the Northern Plains through the interactions of people with bison from 1800 to present, and allows the museum to interpret and display its substantial collection of Plains Indian cultural artifacts for the first time.
Festivities begin at 10 a.m. Dec. 5 with a ribbon-cutting and proclamation by Mayor Dona Stebbins of December as “The Month of the Bison.” A members’-only opening at 6 p.m. Friday includes a Native American blessing, tours and remarks from VIP guests, as well as dinner and drinks.
The museum publicly unveils its new permanent installation from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Dec. 6 and 1-5 p.m. Dec. 7. The opening includes free soft drinks, cake, popcorn and tours every hour.
Also on tap at the museum is the annual holiday exhibit, “Charlie’s Christmas Letters,” offers Russell’s holiday cards, letters and poems.
Continuing through Jan. 18: “Native America in Art” offers paintings, prints and sculpture by more than 25 artists, gleaned from the permanent collection, that explore the ways in which American Indian life has been portrayed by Indian and non-Indian artists; and “Real Western Wear: Beaded Gauntlets from the William Healey Collection” features more than 70 pairs of beaded gloves that showcase the diversity of designs and beading virtuosity of Plains, Plateau and Great Basin Indian artists.
Call 727-8787 or visit www.cmrussell.org for details.
