Legacy depicts the clash of cultures of the 19th century American West. The legacy of conflicts among cowboys, soldiers, explorers and Indigenous Americans during westward expansion continues to impact America today. The exhibition also celebrates Sid Richardson’s legacy of philanthropy and collecting art. The exhibition features 42 of the Museum’s dynamic paintings of the 19th century American West by Frederic Remington, Charles M. Russell and their contemporaries along with three bronze sculptures by Remington and Russell and one Russell painting on loan from a private collection.
"This exhibition offers a stunning view of a rapidly disappearing Western frontier. The American West underwent dramatic transformation in the late 19th century in the face of exploration, transcontinental transportation, Indigenous American confinement to reservation land and immigration. Legacy presents themes that occupied Russell, Remington and their contemporaries throughout their careers – interaction among diverse peoples, featuring images of cowboys, soldiers, explorers and Indigenous Americans. The American West intrigued several generations of artists, and it continues to do so even today. The conflicts and cultural encounters that occurred among these people in the 19th century continue to impact life in America and may be some of the most significant legacies of the era of westward expansion." - Mary Burke, Sid Richardson Museum Director
Charles M. Russell | In the Wake of the Buffalo Runners | 1911 | Oil on canvas | Private Collection
Legacy reunites familiar works from the Richardson collection painted between 1880 and before 1942 by artists Frederic Remington (1861-1909) and Charles M. Russell (1864-1926) with rarely seen paintings by their contemporaries: Oscar E. Berninghaus, Charles Francis Browne, Edwin Willard Deming, William Gilbert Gaul, Herbert M. Herget, Frank Tenney Johnson, William Robinson Leigh, Peter Moran, and Charles Schreyvogel. The exhibition also features three bronzes, two by Remington and one by Russell, and a Russell painting on loan from a private collection.
Sid Richardson’s legacy of patronage began in 1942 when the oilman and philanthropist began collecting art of the American West – its people, its history, and its landscape. In 1947, he established the Sid W. Richardson Foundation. In 1982, the Foundation’s board of directors established an art museum dedicated to displaying Richardson’s permanent collection and to providing educational art experiences for the public at no charge.
