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Missoula-- The Montana Museum of Art &
Culture at The University of Montana will present an
exhibition June 11 through Aug. 7 to celebrate the centennial
of Glacier National Park.
The "Glacier National Park
Centennial Exhibition" examines the strong aesthetic legacy
surrounding the park through traditions held by American
Indians and the contributions of the Great Northern Railway,
which was pivotal in the development of Glacier's artistic
history through a rich graphic tradition in publications,
countless photographs and the fostering of artistic
exchanges.
An opening reception will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday,
June 11, at the museum's Meloy and Paxson galleries, located
in UM's Performing Arts and Radio/Television Center. It is
free and open to the public.
Glacier National Park is
associated with the significant oral traditions and cultural
practices of the Amskapi Pikuni (Blackfeet), Sqeilo (Salish)
and K'tanaxa (Kootenai) peoples. The tribes have used the
lands for traditional purposes for generations and continue to
value the area as essential to the continuity of their
cultural
identity.
The exhibition features a rare Blackfeet war record that
originally adorned Many Glacier Hotel. It is on loan from the
collection of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway in Fort
Worth, Texas -- the successor to the Great Northern
Railway.
Works of notable artists such as John Fery, Julius
Seyler and Winold Reiss, who introduced European modernism to
the West, also are on view in the exhibition. The Winold Reiss
Art School, held summers at Glacier during the 1930s, taught a
number of notable students, including Elizabeth Davey Lochrie,
who is represented in the exhibition.
The "Glacier National
Park Exhibition" also includes a portfolio of Blackfeet Indian
tipi designs by John C. Ewer and Jessie Wilber; photographic
portraits by Tomer J. Hileman, who served as official park
photographer from 1924 to 1940; and selected works by Edward
S. Curtis, who documented American Indian tribes just before
the creation of the park. Works by Roland Reed, Arthur Dailey,
Fred Kiser and others also are featured.
The story of
Glacier National Park begins millions of years ago when ice
carved, sculpted and shaped the landscape. It was designated
the nation's 10th national park May 11, 1910, and, at more
than 1.2 million acres, is the third-largest national park in
the lower 48 states. The park was home to 150 glaciers, but
today there are 26 remaining. In 1932, Glacier joined Waterton
Lakes National Park in Alberta, Canada, to form the world's
first International Peace Park
.
MMAC will host two free
lectures in conjunction with the exhibition:
7 p.m.
Thursday, June 24: "Julius Seyler: An Impressionist Painter in
Glacier National Park," presented by UM history Professor
William Farr, author of a book by the same title published
last year by the University of Oklahoma Press. Masquer
Theatre, PAR/TV Center.
7 p.m. Wednesday, July 21:
"Artists of Glacier Park," presented by UM art Professor
Rafael Chacon, who will draw from "Inventory and Background
Report on the Paintings in the Historic Lodges of Glacier
National Park," a survey he prepared in 2006 for the federal
government. Meloy Gallery, PAR/TV
Center.
MMAC summer hours are 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday through
Saturday. A $5 donation is suggested, and free parking is
available near the northeast corner of the PAR/TV
Center.
For more information, call 406-243-2019 or visit
the museum's website at http://www.umt.edu/montanamuseum.
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