Mostly Plains: Arresting Native American Art and works by Charles M. Russell from the Charles M. Bair Family Collection
Exhibition dates
February 15, 2008 - May 18, 2008

Opening Reception
Thursday, March 13, 2008, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.

This focused exhibition will draw attention to indigenous art—in the form of Northern Plains Indian artifacts—and imported art forms as practiced by Charles M. Russell. The Northern Plains Native American art in the Charles M. Bair Family collection reflects a culture and its aesthetic. The highly stylized motifs and strong graphic qualities of Plains handwork have long been admired by collectors and students of Native American cultural achievement. Yet, they also reflect specific meanings and functional usefulness for those who designed and made them. This selection of Northern Plains artifacts includes fine examples of beadwork, quill work, and buckskin utilitarian objects.

C. M. Russell respected the Native aesthetic even through he himself created work in a Euro-American tradition. His subject matter and palette were as much inspired by his Montana surroundings as were the creations of the regional Native Americans he admired.

The North American art from the Charles M. Bair Family collection is on long-term loan to the Yellowstone Art Museum. Selections from this extensive collection were exhibited in 2004-2005, 2006, and 2007. We are pleased to focus once more on the aspect of this collection that relates most closely to the deep history of our region. Curated by the Yellowstone Art Museum’s Senior Curator Robert C. Manchester, this exhibition will be on view only at the Yellowstone Art Museum.

Exhibition sponsored by the Charles M. Bair Family Trust
and Anonymous

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