While visiting family over ThanksLiving, we were privileged to visit the Thomas Gilcrease Institute of American History and Art--the Gilcrease Museum. It is a beautiful museum, filled with stunning works of art; original oils, bronze sculptures, American Indian artifacts and more.
The museum has many works of art by Charles M. Russell, Fredrick Remington, and other American western artists. The paintings took my breath away, I was practically at a loss to describe the beauty. 'Awe inspiring', 'magnificent', are the only words that came to mind.
One of the museum's rules was that one was to keep a minimum of 18" from the paintings. I cheated. I had my glasses off and my nose about 6 inches from the canvases... that must have been why some museum officials were strolling the rooms, keeping an eye on me. I couldn't help it. The painting were so vibrant, so full of life and light, I actually felt honored to be able to view them.
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| Camp Cook's Trouble Charles M. Russell (1864-1926) |
I noticed that Charles M. Russell would use approximately 7-10 colors when painting a horse. His use of color and light would bring the painting to life. The museum lighting on each painting was strategically placed, so that the light from the painting seemed to glow. Standing in front of a painting, one could feel as if they were in that painting.
Something I've always found to be exciting when I stand in front of an original work of art--especially a work of art by a famous painter--is that I imagine the artist is standing right next me, and I can watch him or her paint each stroke on the canvas. I can stand exactly where that artist stood. I can stand next to Monet, or Mary Cassatt, or in this case, Charles M. Russell or Fredrick Remington.
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| The Lewis and Clark Expedition, 1918 Charles M. Russell |
There were several paintings by this artist, Joseph Henry Sharp, with this theme of light emanating from within a structure, such as this teepee. They were beautiful .
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| Crow Teepees at Night, 1890's Joseph Henry Sharp (1860-1946) |
Visiting the Gilcrease Museum was delightful. It was one of the highlights of my trip.
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4 comments:
Very cool. We saw his exhibit last time we were in Denver at their Art Museum. A family favorite.
I would love to go there! That last painting and the lighting from within the teepees...there's just something about it. Beautiful!
Beautiful Joy! I like your description of standing next to the artist whose work you are admiring. The "American West" section was truly breath-taking. So glad we got to go!
Hey folks, that little lady above--Katie-- is my awesome step-daughter. She's just the neatest, most creative gal and fun to be with! She cooked that ThanksLiving dinner all by her self! Tons of thanks Girl!
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