Joe Scheuerle

Eagle Chief, front, MHS 2003.85.05

We have lots of art at the Histo—Charlie of course is our star, but currently we have an exhibit of Joseph Scheuerle’s work in our lobby gallery. 

Scheuerle was a contemporary of Russell and would meet up with Russell and others to travel to the reservations to paint from life. Scheuerle kept a sort of journal on the backs of many of his paintings—short synopses of his encounter with subjects—sometimes a weather report, sometimes a character report. 

Eagle Chief, back, MHS 2003.85.05

Much of our Scheuerle collection has been gifted to the society, as is much of our collections. The vision of the state’s founders, donors, lenders, staff and public make rich and varied treasures to our collections. We regularly exhibit fits and starts of our collections, usually with thematic exhibits in our Northeast Gallery, and 2-dimensional shows in our Lobby Gallery. We shine objects or highlights of history on our Montana Moments wall in our Homeland Gallery—and have augmented, or updated sections in that same gallery. We augment many of our exhibits with items lent by individuals, other museums and institutions, as we also loan our work to other museums.

We are working toward the transition/addition to our current building and new and exciting exhibits and experiences—which will mean working behind the scenes to make it all happen. The talented staff here are reaching out through social media and other media to keep information and excitement going. Our home page is a great resource during this time of isolation.