LONGMONT, Colo. – The Longmont Museum is proud to present Frederic Remington and Charles Russell: Masterworks from the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, on view from November 22, 2014, through April 19, 2015. This collaborative exhibition with one of the premier museums in the western United States brings a remarkable collection of original art to Colorado. Visitors will benefit from the depth of the Center’s collection – many of the works in this exhibition have never been exhibited in Colorado, and some have never been shown outside their home in Cody, Wyoming. “We are thrilled to present masterpieces by two of the West’s best known artists to northern Colorado,” stated Wes Jessup, Director of the Longmont Museum. “These works informed America’s perception of the West in the early 20^th century, an image that is still vibrant today.”

Remington was the most popular illustrator of subjects of the American West in the late 19^th century. His works centered on the cowboy, the military, and the American Indian, defining the basic conflicts and aesthetic interpretations of the West. Although he is associated with the West, Remington spent most of his life in New York. He traveled to Montana in 1881 and began a highly successful career as an illustrator by selling a sketch of cowboys to Harper’s Weekly. Remington returned annually to the West, using plein air sketches to capture mood and color, and then returning to his studio in New Rochelle, New York, to create his illustrations, paintings, and sculptures. In his short life (he died in 1909 at age 48), he produced more than 3,000 drawings and paintings, and 22 bronze sculptures.

Charles M. Russell was born in St. Louis and moved to Montana at age 16, where he would live for the next 46 years. He worked on cattle ranches for more than a decade before turning full-time to art, lending his work a distinctive realism based on his life experience. Russell regularly traveled to New York to work with experienced illustrators, mirroring Remington’s journeys west. Charlie Russell completed more than 4,000 artworks in his career, from watercolors and gouache drawings to oil paintings and bronze sculpture.

“In recent years the Buffalo Bill Center for the West has developed traveling exhibitions from our collection for nationally-renowned museums such as the High Museum in Atlanta and the Joslyn Museum in Omaha, Nebraska,” said Mindy Besaw, Margaret and Dick Scarlett Curator of Western American Art for the Buffalo Bill Center of the West. “We are now thrilled to share some of our best-loved works by Russell and Remington with the Longmont Museum.” 

Frederic Remington and Charles Russell: Masterworks from the Buffalo Bill Center of the West compares the life and work of these giants of western art. Drawn from the Center’s extensive collection, works on exhibit include 13 bronzes, four letters with original watercolor illustrations, four watercolors, two gouache drawings, 21 oil paintings, three pen and ink drawings, and three lithographs. Included in the exhibition are rarely-seen watercolors by Russell, distinctive black, white, and gray Remington paintings which were created for illustrations, and a large selection of Russell bronzes.

Admission for this special exhibition will be $8 for adults, $5 students/seniors (62+), and free for ages 3 and under.

BUFFALO BILL CENTER OF THE WEST

Since 1917, the award-winning Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody, Wyoming, has devoted itself to sharing the story of the authentic American West. The Center is an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution. For more information, visit www.centerofthewest.org

LONGMONT MUSEUM

The Longmont Museum is a center for art and culture in northern Colorado. The Museum’s permanent exhibitions highlight the history of Longmont and the northern Colorado Front Range, and its special exhibitions range from major artists such as Ansel Adams, John J. Audubon, and Edward Weston, to hands-on explorations of transportation, construction, and technology. For more information, contact the Museum at 303-651-8374, or visit www.longmontcolorado.gov/museum.

LONGMONT MUSEUM
400 QUAIL ROAD
LONGMONT CO 80501
303-651-8374

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:

Erik Mason, Curator of Research, erik.mason@ci.longmont.co.us

Wes Jessup, Museum Director, Wesley.jessup@ci.longmont.co.us