Image source: Yellowstone Art Museum
Contemporary art can be defined as an art that emerged and continues to evolve in the present era. In other words, contemporary art is a modern form of art popular among the artists and art lovers of the present decade. The Yellowstone Art Museum in downtown Billings is the largest contemporary art museum in Montana.
The Yellowstone Art Museum is a unique and important visual arts center in Montana and the surrounding region. The museum was founded in 1964 in the building of former Yellowstone County Jail. In 1984, with a grant from the Montana Coal Tax Fund and generous donations from private individuals, the Yellowstone Art Museum began to build a permanent collection of significant contemporary art of the region. Now, it has expanded to two publicly accessible buildings. The main building hosts the museum’s galleries and the Visible Vault, which is a publicly accessible art storage facility.
The Yellowstone Art Museum started its operation in a region where the established museums emphasized Western genre art and historic artifacts. However, the museum set out on an alternate, wide-ranging mission with a goal to develop a collection and programs that acknowledged the rich artistic practice occurring in the present i.e. contemporary art.
The Museum hosts many spectacular art exhibitions and events. The beautiful buildings that house Yellowstone Art Museum, Montana’s finest collection of contemporary regional art is also available for hosting events. The venue is best suited for hosting convention, meeting, wedding reception, or just hanging out with friends. The museum also features a favorite local hot-spot for lunch. Raven’s Cafe d’Art is open for lunch Tuesdays through Fridays from 11:00am to 2:00pm.
Yellowstone Art Museum Hours
- The museum is closed on Mondays.
- Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Thursday, Friday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
- Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Museum Location: Downtown Billings – 401 North 27th Street Billings, MT 59101
Phone: 406-256-6804
Visible Vault
Visible Vault, which opened in August 2010, is a publicly accessible art storage facility that houses the permanent collection of the Yellowstone Art Museum in an open, visible fashion. The Visible Vault is one of only a handful of its kind in the country. The visiting guests can observe art collection, storage, and preservation as it happens.
The vault stores about 7,400-object permanent collection. The vault provides a unique thrilling experience as it provides access to ‘behind the scenes’ work that is going on all the time, for the creation and preservation of the collection. Whether it is the photography and cataloging of new works, preparing objects for exhibition, conservation treatments or similar activities, the visitors have access to all the action in the visible vault of Yellowstone Art Museum.
The vault also features the rental leasing of storage space for fine art or other valuables. The space is highly secured and fully climate-controlled 24 hours a day.
Collections of the Yellowstone Art Museum
Image source: Yellowstone Art Museum
The Yellowstone Art Museum collects American art with an emphasis on progressive contemporary art from the northern Rocky Mountain and northern Plains regions. The collection of art began from the very beginning in 1964. In 1984, with a grant from the Montana Coal Tax Fund and generous donations from private individuals, the Yellowstone Art Museum began to build a permanent collection that features 7,300 objects, including both artworks and archival pieces.
The museum is now home to the largest permanent collection of significant contemporary art of the region. The main significant collections of the museum are described below:
Montana Collection:
The Montana Collection is the collection that defines the museum which includes nearly 2,000 works of art inspired by the realities of current West. The collection represents the preservation of Western art relevant to today’s West and constitutes a living artistic heritage. By 1991, there were 609 objects in the collection and currently there are over 2,000 works. The collection has exceeded all expectations for growth and popularity and is the pride of the contemporary artistic community.
Edith Freeman Collection:
Image source: Yellowstone Art Museum
Edith Freeman is regarded as one of the few artists who have deeply attuned the beauty of Eastern Montana in their artwork. She was renowned for devotion in her work and mastered the Reduction block woodcut printing, a challenging technique by which multiple, colored prints are achieved using a single block of wood. She has based her strong compositions by studying and representing the Prairie and Billings Rimrocks, the river valleys and wildflower meadows of Montana.
The Edith Freeman collection at the Yellowstone Art Museum consists of over sixty woodblock prints the majority of which were given by the Edith Freeman Estate in 1993
Virginia Snook Collection:
Image source: Yellowstone Art Museum
The Virginia Snook Collection comprises the work of regionally important author and illustrator Will James (1892-1942). The museum has the largest collection of Will James’s work in the world. Virginia Snook Collection, that is the largest public gathering of the drawings, paintings, books, and memorabilia of cowboy illustrator Will James (1892-1942), has given the museum’s collection another public dimension in the field of Contemporary art.
The Snook Collection also includes paintings and drawings by other historic regional artists including J.H. Sharp, Charles M. Russell, and others. The museum provides the deserved platform to present this artistic continuum to residents and tourists.
The Dorothy & Herbert Vogel Collection:
Herbert and Dorothy Vogel are among art history’s most unusual collectors and museum benefactors, who had persistent drive to understand the “who” and “why” of the art world around them in New York City. They collected in areas that most other collectors overlooked and managed to amass a collection of about 4,000 works of art. They developed an extraordinary instinct and formed an unprecedented collection.
After finishing their collection, they decided to distribute their collection throughout the nation. They selected one museum in each of the fifty states, and each museum received a gift of fifty works from their collection. This way, the extraordinary resource that they created would be enjoyed by the largest possible audience. The Yellowstone Art Museum was the Montana selection and proudly features the Dorothy and Herbert Vogel collection.
Recently Conducted Exhibitions
The exhibitions that have been successfully conducted in the museum are described below:
Art Auction 47:
Image source: Yellowstone Art Museum
The museum successfully conducted its annual fund raising exhibition and auction from January 22 – March 7, 2015. The auction included live and silent auctions from various artists to raise funds with a goal to continue preserving Montana’s artistic past as well as promoting current artistic growth and enrichment.
Ongoing Exhibitions in Yellowstone Art Museum
The ongoing exhibitions in the museum are described below:
Boundless Visions
Image source: Yellowstone Art Museum
Boundless Visions exhibition emphasizes on art from the mid-twentieth century to the present. The ongoing long-term exhibition is the only exhibition in Montana where one can learn the story of art in this region from its beginnings to the present day.
Radiance: Art from the Michael Ovitz Family Collection
Scheduled from: November 25, 2014 – April 5, 2015
The exhibition features works by American artists who portray the visual vocabulary of the day in stunning and unusual ways. The radiance exhibition features twentieth and twenty-first-century art that expresses ideas beyond visually puzzling real subject.
The general theme of the exhibition concludes – that in the absence of a literally depicted visual narrative, the artist’s intentions can be elusive. Each artist in the exhibition has explored a unique visual vocabulary to communicate similar formal concerns.
Upcoming Exhibitions in Yellowstone Art Museum
The upcoming exhibitions in the museum are described below:
Ride ‘em: the art of Will James
Scheduled date: March 26, 2015 – June 14, 2015
The exhibition features the Virginia Snook collection of the museum. It includes the personal items that give an insight into the colorful life of James alongside his books and art.
Ride ‘Em is a wonderful opportunity to become reacquainted with a beloved and influential artist and author whose work stirred the imaginations of millions of children over many decades.
Floyd d. Tunson: Son of Pop
Scheduled date: March 26, 2015 – June 14, 2015
Floyd D. Tunson (born 1947) is an influential artist who has created powerful works that address compelling and relevant social and political themes, but which also looks into aspects of pure beauty, popular culture, art history, and philosophy. The artist in his long four decade illustrious career has achieved a rich and diverse artistic creation through painting, sculpture, photography, and printmaking – often combining the language of these various media in single contemporary works.
The exhibition comprises of 40 specially-selected works from Tunson’s Son of Pop. The Tunson’s Son of Pop themes reflect various bodies of work through which Tunson has addressed concepts such as cultural identity, American social history, pop culture, art history, and even the beauty of pure abstraction. This exhibition provides an in-depth analytics and dynamism in his range of work.
Rental Services in The Museum
Image source: Yellowstone Art Museum
The museum provides its pristine location as a venue for hosting events, storage and parking areas.
Events:
The Yellowstone Art Museum offers its delightful settings in Billings for conducting and hosting business meetings, staff retreats, wedding receptions, bridal showers, seminars, graduation parties, or any other special events.
The Yellowstone Art Museum’s spacious halls and ever-changing art exhibitions provide a beautiful backdrop to make any event memorable. The Museum includes facilities to support and accommodate small weddings, rehearsal dinners, bridal showers, corporate events, meetings, and holiday parties.
Storage: The vault also features the rental leasing of storage space for fine art or other valuables. The space is highly secured and fully climate-controlled 24 hours a day.
Places to Stay Near Yellowstone Art Museum
Western Inn Motel is the best servicing motel at the most affordable prices in the downtown Billings, MT.
Western Inn Motel is a small family owned and operated motel, situated conveniently in downtown Billings. We offer very comfortable, extremely clean, quiet, affordable single, double and even triple rooms for those traveling with large families. We are within the walking distance of the Yellowstone Art Museum and provide a free shuttle service to the Billings Logan Airport. The motel is also close to many tourist attractions, such as the Moss Mansion, Western Heritage Center, Alberta Bair Theater, Babcock Theater and historic Montana Avenue.
The motel offers free HBO, continental breakfast, airport shuttle with free trip parking, in room coffee, fax service, free local calls, winter plug ins and the Billings Gazette newspaper. We are the perfect place for those who want personal attention and not be just a number. Western Inn Motel is truly your home away from home and the best place to stay near Yellowstone Art Museum. Book our services now for your trip to the art museum.
Yellowstone Art Museum in Billings, Montana is the premier attraction for the lovers of contemporary art in the state of Montana and surrounding areas. The museum hosts many attractive exhibitions and events throughout the calendar year featuring the best works of the best contemporary artists. The venue is also best suited for hosting convention, meeting, wedding reception, or just hanging out with friends. Yellowstone Art Museum should be in the bucket list of must visit attraction of all the lovers of the contemporary art community.
Show your support for Contemporary Art by simply visiting the Museum.
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