Trails Plowed Under

Last night concluded our summer third Thursday evening entertainment. The entertainment featured our very own Jim Dunham and Doc Stovall in a show called Trails Plowed Under. Jim and Doc have performed this show for a number of groups but this was one of the rare times they actually performed it at the museum for the general public.
The show combines cowboy poetry and music with first person narrative from famed Western artist Charlie Russell. Jim Dunham takes on the persona of Charlie Russell and, before the audiences eyes recreates one of Russell's works. Last night, Jim recreated Indian With His Wincehester, which is currently in the museum's Faces Gallery. Jim paints for awhile and then he puts down his brush to talk to the audience. As Charlie Russell, he relates tales from Russell's life as told in the book "Trails Plowed Under." Some of the tales were humorous and some were serious, but they were all entertaining and provided a little insight into the life and times of Charlie Russell. While Jim worked on his painting, Doc entertained the audience with songs and poems - some about Charlie Russell and some relating more to the tale just told by "Charlie Russell."
The whole show last just over an hour and at the end the painting created by Jim was raffled off to a lucky member of the audience. Overall, Trails Plowed Under was a hit with the audience. If you weren't able to make it last night, keep your eyes open for the next time Trails Plowed Under shows at the museum.

New Art and Western Adventures at the August Art for Lunch

Today's Art for Lunch featured Booth Western Art Museum executive director Seth Hopkins who spoke on the new art in the galleries and the 2 recent member trips out West.

Regular visitors to the museum may have noticed a change in the galleries in the last couple of weeks. Fourteen new art peices are now on exhibit throughout the museum. Many of these pieces are not actually new to the museum. Some have been in the museum's possession for while waiting for just the right time to make their appearance while others have only recently arrived. Here is a quick summary of the newest additions to the galleries:

• "At the Base of Elephant Head" by Barbara Hill
• "No-O-Mun-Nee, Walks in the Rain, a Warrior" and "Smoking the Shield" by George Catlin
• "Barak, Young Buckaroon" by Carrie Ballentyne
• "Holding the Line" by Jim Fawcett
• "Passing Times" by Veryl Goodnight
• "Rodeo Dance" by Allan Mardon
• "A Whole New World" by Jim Colbert
• "From Dusk to Dawn" by Billy Schenck
• "Princess, Cheyenne Crow, & Buffalo Robe Bead Strip" by Ed Morgan
• "Times Remembered" by Clyde Burnette
• "Battle of Little Big Horn" by Kim Wiggins
• "Cowgirls, We Were Always There" by Burl Washington
• "Rattlesnake" by Lindsay Holt

Guests lucky enough to attend the Art for Lunch learned interesting facts and insights about the each of the artists and their work as well as the significance of the piece in the collection. If you haven't yet had a chance to view these works, be sure to make time to see them. Some will only be here for short time. Just a warning though - Lindsay Holt's rattlesnake painting is very lifelike and very large.

After running through the new additions to the galleries, the entire theatre took a little trip out west through photographs taken on the member trips this summer. The summer of 2007 gave members of the Booth Western Art Museum 2 opportunities to travel. One trip took a group of about 12 people to New Mexico where members had the opportunity to visit with a number of artists and visit artists' homes and studios. The other trip went to Oklahoma where approximately 20 members toured Woolarock, the Gilrease, and Philbrook. They also went to the Prix de West art sale at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. The pictures were great. Everyone on the trips looked like they were having a good time and the scenery was just beautiful. It was enough to make anyone who wasn't able to go jealous. :)