Coming out of the late 19th century and leading into the early decades of the 20th century, two artists dominated the discussion when it came to Western art: Frederic Remington and Charles M. Russell. But numerous other artists were active and also quite successful during that same period, including Edward Borein (1872-1945), who was a close friend of Russell.
El Hacindado, watercolor, 13½ x 18¾”
In recent years, Borein’s role within a pivotal period of Western art has become more celebrated as art enthusiasts, curators and collectors recognize the impact of his work. The Brinton Museum in Big Horn, Wyoming, will honor the artist with a new show, Edward Borein in Brush & Ink, opening June 24. The exhibition will feature more than 50 works, including important pieces from the museum’s collection and major loans from several private collections. A number of works will be on loan from the Gerald Peters family collection.
“He is one of the most undervalued artists of that time period, and I’m glad he’s getting more attention,” says Kenneth L. Schuster, the curatorial director at the Brinton. “I look at his work, and I think his draftsmanship is equal to or even better than both Remington and Russell.”
Sioux Chiefs, oil on canvas, 241⁄8 x 32”
The exhibition will feature a diverse array of work from the artist, including watercolors, pen and ink drawings, rare oil paintings and some of his famous etchings, which have become hugely collectible in the Western market in recent decades. “The Gerald Peters collection alone is stunning, and it is rarely seen altogether at once like this,” Schuster says, adding that Borein was dear friends with Bradford Brinton, the namesake of the museum.
Untitled (Bucking Horse with Rider), brush and India ink, 21 x 15”
The exhibition will be a homecoming for Borein, who was friends Edith and Goelet Gallatin, neighbors to the Quarter Circle A Ranch and the Brinton family. Edith and Goelet’s daughter, Beatrice Gallatin Beuf, lived to be 102 until her death in 2009, and Schuster says she was a wealth of information about Borein. “The show features two lovely panels from a frieze Borein painted for the Gallatins. Beatrice remembered when she was 7 years old and Borein was painting those panels out on two sawhorses by the creek on the family’s property,” Schuster says. “She told me once she liked him a lot, but he also cut the tail off her pony so he could braid the hair. She said, ‘I wanted to kill him for that.’”
Holding Up the Mail Stage, ink on paper, 17¾ x 28”
In addition to more than 50 artworks, the museum will also host an educational program led by Western scholar and historian B. Byron Price on July 21. The exhibition will hang through October 2. —
Edward Borein in Brush & Ink
June 24-October 2, 2023
The Brinton Museum
239 Brinton Road, Big Horn, WY 82833
(307) 672-3173
www.thebrintonmuseum.org
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