Tim Newton, Publisher, Western Art & Architecture Magazine. Photo courtesy of Brigham City Museum of Art and History.
BRIGHAM CITY – At a reception being hosted by the Brigham City Museum of Art & History on April 14, Tim Newton called G. Russell Case one of today’s premier painters of the American West.
“Russell’s vision, like those greats of old, is a grand one,” said Newton, the publisher of Western Art and Architecture Magazine. “The sweeping vistas, the hidden canyons, the vastness of the skies … These are the glories of creation that Russell reveals to us. They are narratives of beauty that are a balm to the human spirit, a much needed joy in an often challenging world”.
Case, a resident of Brigham City, is being honored by the museum with a retrospective look at his career from April 16 to June 18. The show is entitled Utah: North to South.
In his remarks at the reception, Case said that he was eager to share his vision of Utah’s landscapes through this solo exhibition.
That sentiment was apparently contagious. The crowd filled the museum’s reception space before moving to down to the exhibition hall where Case’s works were on display.
“What an honor it’s going to be to be hosted here in Brigham City, my hometown, for a show of this size,” he said. “A retrospect show features paintings from my past up to the present. It represents a large body of work, things from field studies, easel paintings and drawings.
“One important aspect of being an artist is to get an opportunity to have a show and display your work. For me, that’s almost as important as the process itself.’
Newton said that Utah is fortunate to be a “magnet” for artists like Case, who are drawn to the state’s scenic vistas.
Case began his career as a watercolorist in his teens prior to transitioning to oil painting in 1999.
“We’re going to bring in tours from local schools,” Case said. “I’m going to be able to have my gear there to demonstrate, talk about the show and show them what landscape painters do. Maybe talk a little bit about the area, what’s beautiful about it and how we use this for design and composition with landscape painting.
“I also want to thank the Brigham City museum for hosting the show and Utah Humanities and the National Endowment for the Humanities for getting behind this project.”
The museum will also host a panel discussion on May 18 at 6 p.m. on the history of the Mountain West and the role the Utah landscape plays in those stories.
That program will feature expert speakers Molly Cannon, director of Utah State University’s Museum of Anthropology and Mountain West Center for Regional Studies; Darren Parry, the former chairman of the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation; and Case.
Jodi Graham, the executive director of Utah Humanities, will serve as moderator.
Executing a project of this size took a lot of time, effort and resources for museum’s staff alongside Case and his team. The exhibit and accompanying programs and catalog bring together experts in the western landscape and its history to celebrate the unique beauty of this place.
“It was an honor, both at the institutional and the personal level, to work with Russell and our many accomplished collaborators to bring this project to life,” said Alana Blumenthal, the director of the Brigham City museum. “I know that the brilliant expression and contagious enthusiasm of G. Russell Case will inspire our visitors.”
Utah: North to South is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities and Utah Humanities as part of the American Recovery Plan Act (ARPA).
The Brigham City Museum of Art & History is northern Utah’s cultural hub, offering temporary exhibitions on art and history. The museum’s mission is to collect, preserve and interpret art and materials that tell stories of human experiences and of the land.
The museum is a department of Brigham City Corporation and receives added support from the Box Elder Museum Foundation.
It is located at 24 North, 300 West in Brigham City. Hours of operation are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday.