Montana News

C.M. Russell Museum displays new additions

Posted: Feb 13, 2012 9:14 AM by Jen Hollenbach - KRTV
Updated: Feb 13, 2012 9:35 AM

GREAT FALLS - Two new additions at the C.M. Russell Museum in Great Falls from the man himself are now on display.

The donation came from the estate of Fred and Ginger Renner; Fred studied and collected Russell works for 75 years.

One of the paintings is a 1905 worked titled "When I Was Kid," a self portrait of Russell.

The second watercolor is titled "Meat for the Wagons," and was the first original Russell artwork that Renner acquired.

Sarah Burt, chief curator at the museum, noted, "Fred made it his life's goal to track down every single Russell artwork in existence and record it and keep a history of it, and along the way he would make certain purchases, so these two works that were gifted to us from Fred's estate are two of the most important watercolors he collected in his lifetime."

In addition to the paintings, Renner's personal library was also donated.

Once catalogued, the books, photographs, records, and publications on Russell will be added to the museum's library.