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C.M. Russell Museum showing Victory Stampede exhibition from 100 years ago

Posted at 11:47 AM, Jun 11, 2019
and last updated 2019-06-11 13:47:02-04

GREAT FALLS- The C.M. Russell Museum unveiled a new exhibition Friday that will be on display for a few months: Return to Calgary, Charles M. Russell and the 1919 Victory Stampede.

The exhibit offers all of the pieces Charlie Russell and his wife Nancy took to the 1919 Victory Stampede in Calgary. The stampede took place after World War I.

C.M. Russell Museum Executive Director Tom Figarelle said, “The stampede has been, traditionally, since it was started in 1912, a celebration of the west.”

Charlie Russell was a headliner for both the 1912 and 1919 stampede events.

It took over a year to organize and find every piece for the exhibit, which includes 22 oil paintings and eight bronzes.

Fifteen people across the United States and Canada lent their Russell art to the museum.

Figarelle added, “Everyone was very eager to be a part of this show and help us recognize this significant part of Charlie’s career as an artist in 1919, but also to bring these paintings to a place where they can be on display in optimal conditions.”

There was one piece museum staff did not know if they would be able to find.

No one knew where the oil painting, ‘Black Tail Buffalo Days,’ resided.

But after an article about the missing painting appeared in Western Art Collector Magazine, the owner came forward. He lives in Wyoming and was more than eager to lend his painting to the museum for the exhibition.

To ensure visitors have an opportunity to see the once-in-a-lifetime Charlie Russell exhibition, the museum is now open seven days a week through September 30, which is when the exhibition ends.

You can visit the C.M. Russell Museum’s website for more information.

-Kasey Herman reporting for MTN