C.M. Russell Museum House and Studio Interpretation Plan

FAIN: BP-256285-18

C M Russell Museum (Great Falls, MT 59401-1426)
Emily Wilson (Project Director: January 2017 to June 2019)

Development of an interpretive plan for the historic house and studio of western artist Charles M. Russell (1864–1926).

The C.M. Russell Museum requests a $40,000 Historic Places Planning Grant to develop an interpretive plan for the Charles M. Russell House and Studio. The structures, occupied from 1900 to 1926 by famed artist of the American West Charles Marion Russell and his wife and business manager Nancy Russell, are undergoing conservation, with the studio to be finished by March 2017 and work on the house to begin immediately after. The grant would fund consultation with prominent historians of art, the American West, and Plains Indians, and the testing of interpretive content and formats before all conservation work is completed in 2018. The Russell story will be presented in the broader context of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a period of dynamic change that saw the passing of the Old West. Multiple formats and approaches to the site interpretation will be considered, including ways to create immersive environments in which visitors step into history as active participants.