MHMSlogo.GIF (5068 bytes)
July 1999

Museum offers first view
of Paxson masterpiece

paxson.jpg (23172 bytes)

"The Buffalo Hunt" by Edgar Paxson will be on display in the Museum of Fine Arts at UM.

The first-ever public viewing of a major historical Montana painting by Edgar Paxson will highlight a new exhibit by the Museum of Fine Arts at UM.

The exhibition, "Masters of the Medium: Great Painters of the American West," will be displayed Aug. 6-Sept. 7 in the museum's Henry Meloy Gallery, located in the Performing Arts and Radio-Television Center. The featured painting, Paxson's "The Buffalo Hunt," was purchased from the artist in 1909 by Joseph Dixon, former Montana governor and U.S. senator.

A special preview reception will be held from 5 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 4, at the gallery. The public is invited.

The exhibit is free and open to the public from 9 a.m. to noon and 1-5 p.m. weekdays. Saturday hours are noon to 5 p.m. Free parking waivers are available to gallery visitors. Private tours for groups also may be arranged.

Many of the works in the exhibit are offered for sale. A portion of the proceeds from the exhibit and sale will benefit the museum.

A glittering assemblage of the museum collection's landscapes and figurative works from the late 19th century and early 20th century will be shown, along with works from the private collections of fine art dealers John R. Howard, Donald Peterson and Cornell Norby.

Notable artists of traditional American art whose works will be included are Paxson, Charles M. Russell, O.C. Seltzer and Ralph De Camp. Also included are Glacier National Park painters Carl Link, John Fery and Weinhold Reiss, and Taos, N.M., painters Joseph H. Sharp, Victor Higgins, Oscar Berninghaus. The exhibit will include works by Maynard Dixon, William Gollings, Frank Hoffman and Edward Borein as well.

"This is a rare opportunity for us to celebrate the art of the past with works of incomparable artistic merit and beauty," said museum Director Maggie Mudd. "This exhibit is a feast for the eyes if ever there was one. We are grateful to J.R. Howard for his assistance and are honored to make it available to the public."

blogo225.gif (4708 bytes)

MAIN HALL TO MAIN ST. HOME