‘The Blackfeet Nation & Charles M. Russell’ in Denver
The Denver Art Museum (DAM) presents its next show about the American West, “Storytellers: The Blackfeet Nation & Charles M. Russell,” opened on view September 6, 2026, and on view through January 24, 2027. The milestone presentation is made possible by a landmark gift of masterworks from the collection of Tom and Jane Petrie, which significantly expands the museum’s western American art holdings.
“Storytellers” will feature over 80 artworks including oil paintings, watercolors and bronzes by Charles M. Russell and ancestral artworks from the Blackfoot Confederacy (Nitsitapii), especially the Kainai (Blood Tribe) and Amskaapii Pikanni (Blackfeet or South Peigan), from the late-19th to mid-20th centuries.
“With Storytellers, we are inviting visitors to look closer at the intersections of art, memory and Indigenous expertise,” said Christoph Heinrich, Frederick and Jan Meyer Director of the Denver Art Museum. “By exploring themes like the buffalo hunt and the intricate roles of Blackfeet women, we are celebrating artistic skill and honoring a resilient cultural heritage. We thank Tom and Jane Petrie for their extraordinary gift expanding our western American art collection which continues to speak to their shared love of western American art.”
The gift of the Petrie Collection includes some of the most celebrated masterworks by Charles M. Russell, both paintings and sculptures. The Petrie Collection will further strengthen the breadth and caliber of the DAM’s western American art collection, one of the most comprehensive in the country.
“This year is the centenary year of Charles M. Russell’s death, an important time for a refreshed focus on his legacy. Russell’s work captures a spirit that transcends its era and it is a privilege to see these masterworks find a permanent home in the Petrie Institute of Western American at the DAM,” said Tom Petrie. “To me, this exhibition is a testament to the power of art to act as a bridge between the ‘West that has passed’ and thriving Indigenous communities of the present. Jane and I are delighted to support the museum’s mission to foster an ever deeper understanding of our shared heritage, while celebrating the vibrant cultures that continue to shape the West today and continuing the work of the Petrie Institute’s pursuit of excellence in scholarship.”
This exhibition puts ancestral Nitsitapii works from the DAM’s collection into dialogue with Russell’s representations of Blackfeet art and culture. Through these comparisons, the exhibition explores the deep spiritual connection to bison and the vital contributions of Blackfeet women, including excellent examples of beadwork, hide-tanning and saddle making. Other areas focus on the roles of Blackfeet men as warriors and medicine men, revealing how Russell’s famous “Old West” scenes were built upon the real-world knowledge of his Indigenous mentors. The show also brings history to life through Hand Talk, using video and contemporary experts to translate the ancient Plains Indian Sign Language that Russell carefully painted.
Some of the themes explored include:
Bison and the Buffalo Hunt
Russell arrived in Montana in the 1880s, by which time bison herds had been reduced from many millions to less than a thousand. The near-total loss of the bison devastated the Indigenous cultures who had relied on them for centuries. Although Russell arrived too late to witness a buffalo hunt, the subject became a foundational component of his oeuvre. The exhibition presents a selection of Russell’s representations of bison and buffalo hunts to consider his aesthetic and technical development as well as his reliance on Indigenous knowledge and history. Through Blackfeet perspectives and artworks, this section considers the Nitsitapii peoples’ deep relationship with iinii (buffalo).
Blackfeet Women: Artists and Caregivers
Honoring Blackfeet women’s multi-faceted contributions to preserving Blackfeet art and culture, the exhibition examines their roles in parenting, managing domestic life, breaking and moving camp, processing bison hides, making garments and as artists skilled in using leather, beads and porcupine quills. Artworks made by Blackfeet women regularly feature in Russell’s work. Josephine Wright, of Blackfeet heritage, often modeled for him and served as a cultural broker. Blackfeet women had a profound impact on Russell’s artistic development.
Blackfeet Men: Warriors, Scouts and Medicine Men
Russell often painted Blackfeet men in traditional cultural roles including medicine man, scout and warrior. The exhibition analyzes Russell’s indebtedness to Indigenous knowledge and brings Blackfeet perspectives to bear on how we might better understand and appreciate these representations. It also considers Russell’s creation of a “West that Has Passed” rooted in his understanding of a deeper regional history.
Hand Talk: Plains Indian Sign Language
Plains Indian Sign Language (PISL) is one of the oldest languages in North America, utilized for centuries by Indigenous people and eventually by European and American traders. Russell spoke PISL – which he called Hand Talk – with diverse Native communities and represented signs in his artwork. The exhibition presents new and enhanced interpretations of Russell’s work based on the expertise of contemporary PISL speakers. It integrates video representations of contemporary speakers demonstrating relevant signs as well as a historical video of Richard Sanderville (Chief Bull, Amskaapii Pikannii, 1866- 1951) signing traditional stories.
“We strive to be a space where history is actively revisited and understood through new lenses,” said JR Henneman, Director of the Petrie Institute of Western American Art. “’Storytellers’ represents a vital moment for our Denver community to engage with the complex legacies of the American West. By placing ancestral Nitsitapii artworks in direct conversation with Russell’s iconic paintings, we move beyond the ‘myth’ of the West to celebrate the enduring presence and vibrant culture of the Blackfeet people today and the ongoing relevance of Russell’s art. We are deeply grateful to Amskaapii Pikannii (Blackfeet Nation) advisors to this project who shared their time, knowledge, stories and humor with us.”
The exhibition’s interpretative elements will be provided in English and Spanish, with key components presented in American Sign Language (ASL), Niitsi’powahsin (Blackfeet) and PISL. Amskaapii Pikannii advisors provided insight at every stage of the project, including choosing Nitsitapii objects from the DAM’s collection, providing knowledge and content for catalog and exhibition text, undertaking language translation, advising on catalog and exhibition design and providing songs and stories for interpretive content.
About the Institute of Western American Art
The Institute of Western American Art was founded in 2001 with a significant gift of art from William Sr. and Dorothy Harmsen. In 2007, the department was renamed the Petrie Institute of Western American Art (PIWAA) thanks to the generosity of Tom and Jane Petrie. In 2013, Henry Roath’s gift of masterworks and, in 2014, the acquisition of the Dr. George C. and Catherine M. Peck collection greatly enriched the department’s collection. In 2024, Barbara Thompson’s gift of significant fine art prints featuring the American Southwest reinvigorated the department’s work on paper program. Tom and Jane Petrie’s planned gift of masterworks by Russell further deepens the DAM’s commitment to telling a comprehensive story of American art in the West.
The Petrie Institute of Western American Art (PIWAA) tells the story of American art from a western perspective and situates western American art in a global context. It is a national leader in scholarly research and programming. Its collection is one of the most important of its kind, spanning nearly two centuries of artistic production in and about the West.
“Storytellers” is a traveling exhibition organized by the Denver Art Museum. Following the debut at the DAM, the exhibition will travel to the C.M. Russell Museum in Great Falls, Montana. It is curated by JR Henneman.
