Creative Connections

Happy Summer Solstice! Summer is a time for fun and adventure…in the garden! Vegetable gardens are in full bloom this season. In Texas, gardeners have to remain diligent about watering and protecting their precious plants from the brutal heat. In the Southwest, where it’s dry and arid, people have developed techniques in order to adapt their gardens to the environment. One such technique is practiced by the Zuni (A:shiwi) called Latdekwi:we, or waffle gardening. Timothy O'Sullivan. Gardens surrounding the Indian pueblo of Zuni, 1873. Stereograph. Source: Stereographs from geographical explorations and surveys west of the 100th meridian, expeditions of [...]

Dr. David Cross from TCU guides our class through the various stages of child brain development. The end of the year is a time for reflection and review. In the education department, much of our attention has been on training a new class of docents at the Sid. Over the course of 13 weeks we have learned so much. Scholars from near and far have taught us about the background of two iconic artists of the American West, Frederic Remington and Charles Russell, as well as the history surrounding the time period in which these two artists lived [...]

This month we are celebrating the 10th anniversary of “For Love of Russell,” a one-woman monologue of the life of cowboy artist Charles Russell as told by his wife and business manager, Nancy Cooper Russell. Visitors have an opportunity to experience the performance every Second Saturday of the month. The role of Nancy Cooper Russell is performed by one of our museum docents, Roberta Atkins. Roberta has been with the museum since the institution first embarked on a docent program in 1999. In 2005, when the museum closed for renovations, Roberta began to conceive and write what became the “For [...]

Fall is just around the corner and with it comes a new season of Tea & Talk. This program is geared towards adults who are interested in slowing down their art viewing process and digging a little deeper into our collection (and for those who enjoy a good cup of a tea afterwards!). For our first Tea & Talk of the 2016-2017 season we viewed and discussed a portrait painted by Charles Francis Browne, Nai-U-Chi: Chief of the Bow, Zuni 1895. Tea & Talk, September 2016, Sid Richardson Museum Charles Francis Browne, Nai-U-Chi: Chief Of The Bow, [...]

Have you ever kept a journal or a diary? Did you ever travel with your journal? In 1868, Texas cowboy Jack Bailey kept a journal of his experience on a cattle drive. It is one of the earliest known day-by-day, first-hand accounts of a cattle drive from Texas to Kansas during the period just after the Civil War. The era of the cattle drive was a short-lived period, from about 1865-1895. But it is from this period of the open-range cattle industry that many of the myths, legends, or heroic concepts we have of cowboys today was derived. It’s estimated [...]

The Texas Cattle Trail era is a mythological period of American history. The language and characters of the period have become part of our identity. You’ve heard of maverick politicians. Ever use the phrase “time to hit the trail?” Cattle herd and cowboy, circa 1902 After the Civil War, the cattle business blossomed, largely by the booming industry in the north and reconstruction in the south. From 1867 to 1895, over 98,250,000 cattle trailed from Texas to northern markets. Beef was starting to replace pork as the country’s preferred meat product. In 1867, Joseph G. McCoy, a visionary [...]

On Feb 2, 1966, The Rare Breed premiered in Fort Worth at Palace Theater, 117 E. 7th Street, the first of four pre-release showings of the film. The premier coincided with what was then called Fort Worth Fat Stock Show. An archive of the premier features Maureen O'Hara and James Stewart walking the red carpet to Fort Worth fanfare. 1968 photo courtesy of Larry Brown The film is directed by Andrew McLaglen, who is known for films like McClintock!, Shenandoah, Bandolero, just to name a few of his 31 feature films. In addition to film, Mr. McLaglen directed such [...]

Exciting news! In partnership with Texas State University, the Sid Richardson Museum has launched a new mobile app – Musing. What is Musing? Musing is a FREE iPhone application that allows museum visitors to use their phones to access fun and educational information at participating museums and galleries. Visitors can scan the artwork on display to learn more about the artist and the particular work you are viewing. How does it work? Step one: download the app on your iPhone. Step two: Find the current exhibition, Remington & Russell, Retold. Take a photo of the selected artwork with the app. [...]

Last week we had the good fortune to be joined by Karen Barber, Curatorial Fellow in Photography at the Amon Carter Museum of American Art, where she is currently working on a project related to photography and Native America. Karen talked to us about the continuing legacy of George Catlin’s Indian Gallery in 19th and 20th-century photography. After amassing an Indian Gallery of more than 500 paintings, Catlin began to exhibit his collection to American audiences. He believed that Indian cultures were vanishing and would be known by future generations only through the visual record he was preserving. What he [...]

Last week the museum hosted an adult program called Sid’s Studio, in which we created landscape paintings inspired by the works of George Catlin. While Catlin is known for his portraits and scenes of everyday life of American Indians, at the foundation of his paintings are his landscapes. When Catlin made his first trips up the Missouri River in 1830 and 1832, he was enraptured by the landscape. Although the Philadelphian portraitist originally intended to paint the Native Americans themselves, the artist felt compelled to depict their prairies, rivers, and hills as well. In his Letters and Notes, Catlin wrote: [...]