THE RUSSELL AUCTION • March 20-22, 2025 • Featuring over 125 historic pieces, including more than 20 iconic works by Charles M. Russell. Visit cmrussell.org to learn more.

I had Duane Braaten on today and he's a very interesting guy. It just goes to show that when you grow up in an art community like Great Falls, MT it can affect you and it certainly affected Duane. I think in a way it may have affected him more than he even realizes.

You see, Duane goes to pharmacy school, but he discovers his love for the creative world, art, and art museums. What happens is he works as a security guard at the school art gallery. This alters his trajectory a great deal, and he winds up at the Charlie Russell Museum as a preparator, eventually becoming the Director of Art and Philanthropy and he's been there since 1996.

The big event we talk about in this podcast is the auction that the C.M. Russell Museum puts on annually called "The Russell." It's the main fundraiser for the C.M. Russell Museum, which is typically the third week in March.

If you haven't gone to that event, believe me when I say that it's a fantastic experience. It's really worth doing. You have all of this interesting art that you can purchase and see, both contemporary and historic. I think 25 Charles Russell works will be for sale, that again, all help the museum, which is an important institution.

So very interesting to talk to Duane about his life, about his career at the C.M. Russell Museum, and the annual auction that is happening March 20, 21, and 22 happening in Great Falls, Montana and online at the link below:

https://www.liveauctioneers.com/auctioneer/1115/the-russell-a-western-art-experience/

Oreland Joe came by my gallery today. He's such an interesting individual. I've always admired his sculptures and his paintings. He’s also a silversmith and his son Bo Joe (who I interviewed on episodes 249 and 250), is a master silversmith himself.

He's gone through a lot of different things in his life and is still just pushing forward creatively. He’s currently working on a commission that's coming up in Durango, which is a massive mural for a hospital, as well as working on a film about a prolific ancestor, Yellow Nose, a warrior who captured the seventh cavalry flag on June 25th of 1876 at the Battle of Little Bighorn.

There's history thrown in with creativity and how he got to where he is today and what he's working on. So it's a really interesting, unique take on life, and he shares it with us. I am very happy he did and I’m even happier I get to share it with you.

This is Oreland Joe on episode 336 of the Art Dealer Diaries Podcast.

This iteration of the Masters of Drawing podcast was very interesting because I interviewed all of these artists, one after another, in a single day. Featuring Francis Livingston, Jill Carver, Dennis Ziemienski, Greg Newbold, Roseta Santiago, and Jordan K. Walker.

You see, I was having a show that focused on drawing and had invited 47 artists for what I called "Masters of Drawing." These individuals are who I consider to be the very best in that field. They're all artists that primarily do paintings, but I wanted to really focus on that basic structure of most fine art, which is drawing.

It's the thing that you do when you're a kid regardless of whether you're an artist or not, when you're three and you first get a crayon or a pencil. These individuals not only got that crayon and pencil, but they kept using it and using it. If you watch this podcast on YouTube, which I recommend, you can literally see them talking about drawing, speaking with their hands as if a pencil or pen was in their hands. It's really fascinating to watch because you can see each of these people's minds just go to that moment in time.

So I hope you enjoy the third and final Masters of Drawing group podcast. This is episode 335 of Art Dealer Diaries hosted by Dr. Mark Sublette.