Portland Art Museum
Portland, OR
503-226-2811
Remington, Russell and the Language of Western Art
April 26 - June 24, 2001
The enduring myth of the Wild West comes to life as the Portland Art Museum presents Remington, Russell and the Language of Western Art, an exhibition of works by America's best-known Western artists, from April 26 through June 24, 2001. Through over 100 paintings, sculptures, drawings, illustrations and photographs, the exhibition explores how Frederic Remington and Charles M. Russell have shaped our view of the American West.
"Together these two artists have given us a pictorial record of the West unprecedented in its richness of observation, imagination and artistry. In fact, they fashioned America's image of the vanished western frontier," notes curator Peter Hassrick in the exhibition catalogue.
Although they never met, Remington and Russell were constantly compared during and after their lifetimes by both the public and the press. Though together the works of these two artists have determined popular views of the American West, Remington and Russell approached their subjects from different viewpoints. This exhibition explores their similarities and differences, as well as the context in which each lived and worked, through comparing and analyzing their work. It provides an opportunity to see a wide range of these artists' works including well-known paintings and sculptures as well as less familiar works, such as illustrated letters by Charles Russell and the monochrome paintings of Frederic Remington.
Included in the exhibition are such renowned works as Remington's "The Cowboy," "The Buffalo Hunt," "Cheyenne," and "Outlaw," and Russell's "A Desperate Stand," "A Bronc Twister," "The Buffalo Herd," and "Counting Coup."
One of the strengths of the exhibition is the generosity of its lenders, which has brought together a superb selection of objects from public and private sources. The 52 lenders constitute all of the finest Western American collections in the United States, including the Amon Carter Museum, the Autry Museum of Western Heritage, the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, the C.M. Russell Museum, the Frederic Remington Art Museum and the Charles M. Russell Center at the University of Oklahoma.
Organized by the Trust for Museum Exhibitions, the exhibition is curated by Peter Hassrick, Charles M. Russell Professor of American Western Art and Director of the Western Arts Study Center at the University of Oklahoma, Norman. A fully illustrated color catalogue written by Hassrick will accompany the exhibition. Margaret Bullock, Associate Curator of American Art, is the curator in charge for the Portland Art Museum.
The Trust for Museum Exhibitions (TME) is a Washington DC based non-profit service organization committed to providing the finest in exhibitions and technical support to museums and cultural centers throughout the United States and abroad. The Presenting Sponsor for Remington/Russell is Wells Fargo. The Foundation Sponsor is the Clark Foundation. The Honorary Patron of the exhibition is Mrs. Helen B. Copeland Other sponsors include The Standard, Fox 49 KPDX, and The Mark Spencer Hotel. A special thanks also goes to Bill and Ann Swindells for their generous support.
See a prior article on this touring exhibition: Remington, Russell and the Language of Western Art (11/22/00)
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