Beyond Our Walls

It is often said of our namesake, William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody, that he brought the West to the world. Continuing that legacy, the Buffalo Bill Historical Center shares its own extraordinary object collection, exhibitions, and expertise with a national—and indeed international—audience.

From the loan of a few artifacts to complete traveling exhibitions, curator lectures to full symposia, the Historical Center takes the Spirit of the American West on the road.

Our featured exhibition for "Beyond Our Walls" takes us to Fort Worth, Texas.

Romance Maker: The Watercolors of Charles M. Russell

Amon Carter Museum

Fort Worth, Texas
February 11 – May 13, 2012

The Buffalo Bill Historical Center has loaned ten watercolors from our collection of Charles M. Russell artwork to the Amon Carter Museum for its exhibition Romance Maker: The Watercolors of Charles M. Russell.

The exhibition features more than one hundred of the finest and best-preserved watercolors by cowboy artist Russell (1864 – 1926). According to the Amon Carter, never before have so many of these singular depictions of the Old West been brought together.

Russell’s advice to a fellow artist to “sinch your saddle on romance” defined his work, where vivid subjects culled from his own youthful experiences were fused with the power of his artistic imagination to create unforgettable images of the mythic American frontier.

Romance Maker: The Watercolors of Charles M. Russell is organized by the Amon Carter Museum of American Art. The exhibition and publication are generously supported by BNSF Railway, the Sid Richardson Foundation, Mr. and Mrs. Trevor Rees-Jones, the Erwin E. Smith Foundation, the Lakeside Foundation, and the Peters Family Art Foundation. The exhibition travels to the C.M. Russell Museum in Montana later this year.

These four paintings, all watercolor on paper, are among the Historical Center's loan to the Amon Carter.
Click each thumbnail for a larger view.

Images:

Charles M. Russell (1864 – 1926). Bronco Buster, 1903. 19.5 x 28.5 inches. Gift of William E. Weiss. 58.72

Charles M. Russell (1864 – 1926). Indian Women Moving Camp, 1898. 20 x 28 inches. Gift of William E. Weiss. 21.70

Charles M. Russell (1864 – 1926). Dangerous Ground, 1902. 10.375 x 14.5 inches. Gift of William E. Weiss. 22.70

Charles M. Russell (1864 – 1926). Roping a Grizzly, 1903. 19.5 x 28.5 inches. Gift of William E. Weiss. 19.73

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Visions of the American West: Masterworks from the Buffalo Bill Historical Center

Cheekwood Botanical Garden & Museum of Art

Nashville, Tennessee
October 22, 2011 – March 4, 2012

The American West is a remarkable and storied place—both the real, history-baked landscape and the “Wild West” that lives in the world’s imagination. Now, just as Buffalo Bill brought the West to the world, the Buffalo Bill Historical Center continues that tradition with a new exhibition, Visions of the American West: Masterworks from the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, now on display at the Cheekwood Botanical Garden & Museum of Art in Nashville, Tennessee.

Buffalo Bill's Wild West thrilled Nashville audiences more than one hundred years ago, so it is fitting that the excitement of the West resound there again. Visitors to Cheekwood will experience the West through captivating displays of art, Plains Indian artifacts, Wild West show objects, and firearms—all parts of the quintessential and epic stories of the American West.

Buffalo Bill himself recalled Nashville as one of his favorite places to visit, and the Wild West made more than half a dozen trips to the city between 1883 and 1913. Visions of the American West represents an extraordinary opportunity for new audiences to explore and celebrate the West of Buffalo Bill and today.

Visions of the American West showcases the spectacular and diverse collection of the Historical Center, including masterworks of American western art inspired by the stunning vistas, untamed nature and wildlife, and the distinctive peoples of this land of magic and wonder. The exhibition includes works by artist-explorers Karl Bodmer and George Catlin, landscape-painting masters Albert Bierstadt and Thomas Moran, frontier aritsts Frederic Remington and Charlie Russell, and illustrators N.C. Wyeth and W.H.D. Koerner.

These artistic masterworks are accompanied by a selection of Plains Indian artifacts, material from Buffalo Bill's Wild West, and historic firearms—all of which together explore the grand "idea" of the West.

 Plains Indian artifacts in the exhibition include cultural objects from long traditions that kept customs and upheld values that continue today. These objects give visitors a glimpse into the rich lives and history of the Plains Indian peoples.

Stunning photography highlights the natural history and inspiring landscapes of the Greater Yellowstone region, exemplifying the freedom and wildness of the West.

And finally, the story of the West is further told through firearms, essential tools for survival on the frontier. The development and use of firearms had profound implications for the social, cultural, and economic growth of America and the West.

The Buffalo Bill Historical Center is privileged to partner with the Cheekwood Botanical Garden & Museum of Art to take this exhibition to Nashville. Visions of the American West opened October 22, 2011, and runs through March 4, 2012.

Object images:

Charles M. Russell (1864 – 1926). The Bucker and the Buckeroo, 1923 – 1924. Bronze. Gift of William E. Weiss. 9.81

Painted shield cover, Crow/Northern Plains, ca. 1860. Adolf Spohr Collection. Gift of Larry Sheerin. NA.108.15

About Cheekwood Botanical Garden & Museum of Art

Cheekwood is a fifty-five acre botanical garden and art museum located on the historic Cheek estate. The mansion and grounds, designed by residential and landscape architect Bryant Fleming, were completed in 1932 for the Cheek family. The Cheeks, who founded a wholesale grocery business in Nashville in the 1880s, invested in a cousin's new brand of coffee—Maxwell House. The sale of the parent company in 1928 to what is now General Foods financed the purchase of the land and construction of the estate.

The Cheekwood Botanical Garden & Museum of Art exists to celebrate and preserve its landscape, buildings, art, and botancial collections and, through these unique means, provide an inspiring place for visitors to explore their connections with art, nature, and the environment.

The Buffalo Bill Historical Center has shared many other objects and exhibitions with fellow institutions. Click here for a glimpse of some our past collaborations.