The Sons of Charlie Russell: The Cowboy Artists of America

Western art is rooted in a desire to share the American West with audiences around the world. Illustrating the traditions and sharing the lives, landscape and wildlife that make the West what it is inspired and fueled the likes of Frederic Remington, Edward Borein and Charles M. Russell to create what we now appreciate and revere as Western art. Through their works, those fathers of the genre aimed to bring audiences across the globe a feeling of freedom, nostalgia, and belonging. They established a tradition, and a uniquely American art form, that has been passed from generation to generation and is as vibrant today as it ever was. 

The Cowboy Artists of America was established to keep the inspiration, the tradition and the customs of Western art alive, fostering the shared values, interests, and comradery. The artists hold fast to those values and the united mission to depict authentic representations of life in the West, both as it was and as it is today.

Premiering at the Briscoe and including works typically only seen in private collections, this exhibition chronicles the founding of Cowboy Artists of America, showcasing the traditions and ideals established in the great work of the forefathers of Western art and sharing the evolution of contemporary Western art in the modern era. Their cowboy values, which favor hard work, independence, ruggedness, conservation of the rural landscape, and neighborliness, are the glue that binds the group together and fuels the fantastic artwork they continue to produce. The Sons of Charlie Russell showcases how the Cowboy Artists of America serves as a unifying link from the past to today, providing a core set of criteria for what traditional Western art is, solidifying the strength and vibrancy of the genre for present and future generations.

The Sons of Charlie Russell: Cowboy Artists of America includes 70 works of art encompassing paintings, sculpture, and works on paper, dating from 1890 to the present-day from 40 artists. The 17 lenders to the exhibition include institutional and private lenders from Texas, Arizona, Colorado, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Georgia, as well as works drawn from the Briscoe’s permanent collection, making the exhibition the first, and only, time these works will be viewed together.​

Credit: Overview from museum website

Image credit: Phil Epp, Red Moon