An exhibition exploring the relationship between the Blackfeet Nation and Western artist Charles M. Russell, featuring over 80 works by Russell alongside ancestral Blackfeet pieces.
Storytellers: The Blackfeet Nation and Charles M. Russell is open now at the Denver Art Museum, running from September 6, 2026, through January 24, 2027. You'll find it in the Hamilton Building on Level 1.
The exhibition comes from a landmark gift of Charles M. Russell's masterworks from the collection of Tom and Jane Petrie, which significantly expands the museum's western American art holdings and finds a permanent home in the Petrie Institute of Western American Art. It brings together more than 80 of Russell's works—oil paintings, watercolours, and bronzes—and places them alongside ancestral Nitsitapii pieces from the Blackfoot Confederacy, specifically the Kainai (Blood Tribe) and Amskaapii Pikannii (Blackfeet or South Peigan), dating from the late 19th to the mid-20th century.
The dialogue between the two focuses on the buffalo hunt, the vital contributions of Blackfeet women, who often sat for Russell, and the roles of Blackfeet men as warriors, scouts, and medicine men. It shows how Russell's 'Old West' scenes rested on the knowledge of his Indigenous mentors. A part called 'Hand Talk' brings this to life with video and contemporary experts translating the Plains Indian Sign Language Russell spoke with Native communities.
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After its run in Denver, the show will travel to the C.M. Russell Museum in Great Falls, Montana. Admission is included in general admission, so if you're already planning a museum day, this is one more thing to see while you're there.
Date
12 October – 24 January
Price
Paid
Recommended Age
+14 years
