"Following The Buffalo Run" by C.M. Russell is part of The Russell auction.
The C.M. Russell Museum announces that tickets can now be purchased for The Russell: An Exhibition and Sale to Benefit the C.M. Russell Museum, March 16-18. The Russell has become one of the most respected western art auctions in the country, and is the cornerstone event of Western Art Week, March 15-19 in Great Falls. It is the only auction to directly benefit the ongoing work of the C.M. Russell Museum.
“This is an important event for the museum and for our community,” said Duane Braaten, the museum’s director of Art and Philanthropy. “While it certainly benefits the museum, it also contributes to driving even more visitors to Great Falls during Western Art Week.”
Auction works are currently on display at the museum and the catalogue may be viewed online.
Tickets are available for individual events and, again this year, the First Strike Ticket Bundle offers one price for admission to three events – Art Preview Party, Art in Action™ and the First Strike Friday Night Auction. All events include food and beverage service.
Free events during The Russell are also available to the Great Falls community and western art enthusiasts. The Russell Skull Society of Artists Suites is open to the public, beginning at 10 a.m. daily, from Thursday, March 16 through Saturday, March 18, at the Mansfield Convention Center. Guests can meet the distinguished artists who are members of the Russell Skull Society, view and purchase artwork, and enjoy music, food and drink.
The free Russell Educational Symposium, 9 a.m.-noon Saturday in the Mansfield Missouri Room, offers a lively discussion with the filmmakers of the new Montana PBS documentary, “C.M. Russell and the American West.” The station’s executive producer, William Marcus, moderates the discussion. Great Falls will host the world premiere of the documentary in September 2017 at the Mansfield Theater.
New to The Russell this year, and also free to the public, is the Rockin’ the Range Fashion Review, 1-2 p.m. Thursday, March 16, at the Mansfield Convention Center. Live models will walk The Russell Runway wearing the latest in women’s and men’s western wear to benefit educational programming at the C.M. Russell Museum.
Every year, monies raised during The Russell provide needed funding for the C.M. Russell Museum’s outreach, educational programming, exhibitions and operating expenses. Yet for every dollar raised during The Russell, the museum must still raise another $2 to fully cover its annual expenses.
“The grand total at the end of the event, as well as the gavel price for some of the individual pieces of art, can seem really astronomical,” says Braaten. “But the museum retains only a very small portion of all that money.”
Individual event tickets and ticket bundles may be purchased by calling 406-727-1939 or online at the C.M Russell Museum’s website,
A full schedule of events and more event details are also available at cmrussell.org.