Russell exhibition opens with high hopes for auctions

The C.M. Russell Museum on Thursday unveiled the artwork that will be up for auction next month at The Russell: An Exhibition and Sale to Benefit the C.M. Russell Museum during Western Art Week.

The Russell Exhibition features all 274 pieces of artwork from 219 contemporary and historic artists, including several Russell pieces. The exhibition opens to the public Friday.

The Russell is one of the largest events during Western Art Week, this year held March 18-22. Along with other art shows and auctions throughout Great Falls, the Russell brings hundreds of collectors to town.

Last year’s Russell event, which is the museum’s largest fundraiser, netted $1.4 million for the museum, representing about half of its operating budget, event director Jackie Slovak said.

Two Russell oils, “For Supremacy” and “Scouting Party,” are estimated to sell for more than $1 million each. These, plus a handful of Russell watercolors, a bronze and sketches, will put this year’s event in a strong position to outpace last year’s in sales, Slovak said.

The artwork in this year’s exhibition will be auctioned off in two separate live auctions — First Strike Friday Night and Saturday evening’s live auction.

New last year, First Strike Friday Night has been expanded from 40 lots to 117 lots comprised of work by living artists. An open call for this auction resulted in 800 submitted pieces, Duchemin said.

Saturday’s live auction is by invitation only, with many of today’s top western artists and past masters represented.

Of the 219 artists represented in the Russell Exhibition, 75 are from Montana.

Two Russell oils, four watercolors, a bronze and sketches have been consigned to the auction by private collectors.

A Sharps Model 1874 Buffalo Rifle certified to have belonged to Russell and estimated to sell for between $125,000 and $150,000 will be part of Saturday’s live auction.

While the museum would love to own the Russell works consigned to the auction, Duchemin said it does not have the ability to purchase them.

“The sale allows us to develop relationships with collectors across the country and around the world,” Duchemin said.

These are relationships that may lead to gifts or donations to the museum years or decades down the road, he said.

Overall sponsorship for this year’s show is up by 29 percent, said Russell Museum executive director Michael Duchemin. Local businesses, organizations and individuals account in large part for the sponsorship increase.

Duchemin said about $348,000 in sponsorship funds have been raised thus far, compared to $356,000 last year.

The “dramatic increase” of local sponsorships is due in part to businesses’ desire to support Western Art Week, which Duchemin called a “significant economic driver” for Great Falls.

Along with major corporate sponsors, like BNSF Railway, the Windmill Foundation, Calumet Specialty Products Partners, LP, El Dorado Holdings Inc., William and Barbara Cowan, Tim and Annie Thom and Sarah Stevenson, other sponsors help the museum pay for upfront costs of putting on the event, including purchasing advertisement, paying for catering and renting facilities, Duchemin said.

“They prime the pump,” he said.

Western Art Week events organized by the C.M. Russell Museum get underway March 19, with a Toast to Charlie Russell for the artist’s 151st birthday at the Mansfield Convention Center, featuring living history players. A preview party Thursday evening allows collectors to view the art at the museum, Slovak said.

The Russell Skull Society of Artists, 22 artists who have been recognized as continuing the legacy of Russell’s work, will have their own show and sale at the Mansfield Center in the Great Falls Civic Center on Thursday through Saturday.

Friday, Art in Action features 26 artists finishing works of art that will be auctioned off immediately after, with 100 percent of the proceeds going to the museum. That night, First Strike Friday Night is the first chance for bidders to raise their paddles.

Saturday, an educational symposium will look at the relationship between art, conservation and the National Park movement. That evening, the live auction wraps up festivities.

In years past, a paddle raise at the live auction has been the primary fundraiser for the museum’s educational programs. This year, the paddle raise is replaced with a Pass the Hat campaign. Donation boxes or “hats” will be placed around Russell events for attendees to drop donations. The campaign began Thursday, and donations can be made online at cmrussell.org or in person during Western Art Week, Slovak said.

Duchemin also announced Thursday the museum’s new Wildlife Art Initiative, a multiyear program that will pay homage to Russell’s artwork that depicts wildlife and the landscape.

“This is an opportunity to focus on the relationship with wildlife art and wildlife conservation,” Duchemin said.

Between 25 and 30 percent of Russell’s repertoire is wildlife or landscape art.

In May, an exhibition called “Harmless Hunter: The Wildlife Work of Charles M. Russell” will open. The exhibit is organized by the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson, Wyo., in collaboration with the Charles M. Russell Center for the Study of Art and the American West, University of Oklahoma. Byron Price, director of the Russell Center and the University of Oklahoma Press, is guest curator.

To see the Russell Exhibition, visit the museum Wednesday-Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.