The Yellowstone Art Museum: A work of Hearts, Hands, and Heritage
By Sue Hart
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Yellowstone Art Museum Tour -
Billings, Montana
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Ghosts, gallows, great art, and now great food—all under the same roof. Welcome to the Yellowstone Art Museum in Billings.
One of the most impressive destination sites in downtown Billings, the YAM, as locals refer to it, has evolved over the last 40+ years from rather humble beginnings: the oldest part of the structure was built in 1884 as the Yellowstone County Jail.
At least one hanging is known to have taken place in the jailhouse. Shirley Steele, a docent at the YAM’s predecessor, the Yellowstone Art Center, recalls pointing out a hole in the ceiling above a staircase to tour groups who were surprised—and sometimes horrified—to learn that its purpose was to allow enough of a drop from the gallows on the floor above to swiftly dispatch a miscreant.
Former center and museum employees who have reported hearing footfalls and doors opening or closing in unoccupied areas of the original part of the building suspected that the “ghosts” were spirits of previous inhabitants who, unfortunately, weren’t there to enjoy the ambiance that beckons present day visitors to this impressive Museum located at 4th Avenue and North 27th Street in downtown Billings.
How does a jail become an Art Center which then evolves into an Art Museum?
First visionaries had to recognize the possibilities; then a cadre of volunteers had to raise funds and do the work involved to make the transformation happen, according to LaDonna Fehlberg, whose husband Robert was the architect for the original remodeling.
“Willard Fraser, who was always interested in the arts, and Virginia Snook came up with the idea,” she recalls,” and they approached Bob about the project, but it wasn’t immediately embraced by everyone.”
Fraser, son-in-law of poet Robert Frost, was a Billings mayor who had many ideas for improving his hometown. Virginia Snook’s father had founded the Snook Art Company in the 1920s and befriended many Billings area artists, including Will James. Miss Snook continued her involvement in the family business throughout her life, and the Yellowstone Art Museum is now home to the Virginia Snook Collection, the largest assortment of James’ materials available for public viewing. Drawings, paintings, first editions of his novels, and memorabilia of the cowboy author and artist help connect the YAM to its Western roots.
Ben Steele, a Billings artist and Professor of Art Emeritus at Montana State University-Billings, remembers going to the County Commissioners with a number of other artists to ask that the old jail be saved from demolition and remodeled into an art center for the community. At first, the Commissioners were not too impressed with the idea, he says, telling the petitioners, “That land’s worth too much to make that old building into an art center.”
“They probably wanted to turn it into a parking lot,” Steele says with a laugh.
Fortunately, the Billings Arts Association (BAA) and a number of merchants who saw the benefit of adding to downtown attractions by preserving the old jail as an art center prevailed over the naysayers. Senia and Russ Hart of the Hart Albin Department Store helped raise money for the project by donating a percentage of sales on certain days. The BAA sponsored a foreign film festival and raised several thousand dollars for the cause.
“Volunteers came from every segment of the community,” LaDonna Felhberg remembers. “We had artists who were painting walls, we had motorcycle club members who were helping with the heavy work, such as carrying out the jail cells after our volunteer welders cut them out. It became a real community effort.”
“Those metal bars in the cell block were sold for use as cattle guards,” Shirley Steele says. “That money went into the fund to refurbish the building.”
“We originally opened in 1964 as the Yellowstone Art Center,” Fehlberg says. “We wanted it to be a Center for everyone in Billings, with lots of activities for people of all ages—a living building.”
From Art Center to Art Museum
From 1964 until 1998, the Art Center staff and board members continued to renovate and improve the 11,500 square feet they had to work with, and at the same time enlarged the center’s collection of historic and contemporary art of the region. In 1984, a major grant from the Montana Coal Tax Fund, combined with private donations, led to the establishment of the “Montana Collection,” which now includes over 3,000 pieces of contemporary regional art. During this period, the YAC featured 12 to 15 exhibits annually, started a state-wide education program, and was accredited by the American Association of Museums.
By 1986, it was obvious that the Center was outgrowing its space, and a committee was formed to investigate possibilities for expansion. By 1990, fundraising for an addition to the original building had begun, and in 1996, with donations exceeding $6.2 million, renovations were underway in the old jailhouse portion of the Center and construction started on a 25,000 square foot addition. The following year, the Board of Trustees voted to rename the Art Center, and in February of 1998, the Yellowstone Art Museum, now recognized as the premier museum of contemporary art in the Rocky Mountain West, opened.
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Yellowstone Art Museum Jail -
Billings, Montana
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Community support is still very important to the Yellowstone Art Museum, according to Julia Murphy, YAM Development Director. “Eighty percent of our funding comes from private gifts,” she says. “One-third of our budget is made up of sponsorships and gifts in support of programs and exhibits, and another 15 percent comes from memberships ($40 for an individual membership). There are also fundraisers throughout the year, including Summerfair, the Beaux Arts Ball, held close to Halloween, and our annual Art Auction, held on the first Saturday in March. The Art Auction is our biggest fundraiser. Less than 10 percent of our annual budget comes from Yellowstone County.”
Some return is also realized from the Museum Store—which offers such items as designer and museum logo clothing, jewelry, posters, and art books—and museum-sponsored classes and workshops. The budget funds more than exhibits, of course. As a community, state, and regional museum, the YAM offers workshops and classes for children in grades third through sixth, and Art Together programs for families. The yearly schedule always includes lectures, gallery talks, films, concerts, and other events, such as “First Thursdays,” a Writers Voice program that has brought several prominent authors to Billings for readings and discussions with enthusiastic audiences.
As part of its commitment to the community and the surrounding area, the YAM invites students from elementary through college age to tour the exhibits, and the museum’s docents visit local schools with “art appreciation suitcases,” which cover such topics as “Art in Your Own Backyard,” “That’s a Horse of a Different Color,” which looks at various ways artists have depicted horses through the centuries, and “Back in the Saddle with Will James.”
Today, staffing at the museum has increased from three employees when the YAC opened to 19. The yearly budget has, of course, also grown along with the facility, from $70,000 in the early years to $1.2 million at present.
Current Shows & Events
A number of special exhibits and events will take place at -- or near -- the YAM over the Summer months.
Portions of a gift of more than 200 Modernist and Abstract Expressionist paintings and drawings, donated by Joseph and Holly Poindexter, will be displayed through the Summer.
“Light on Glass and Zig Zag Lightning,” which features items from the Charles M. Bair Family Collection, will run through July 31. Charlie Bair was a very successful Montana sheep rancher, at times running as many as 300,000 woolies—sometimes through the streets of Billings! He made his initial fortune during the Alaska Gold Rush, and added to it by astute investments as well as ranching. He and his wife and their two daughters, Alberta and Marguerite (“Sissy”), traveled the world, buying fine art abroad and in America’s cultural centers to complement their large collection of western and Indian art and artifacts. The current exhibition includes a number of Navajo weavings and some remarkable photogravures by photographer Edward S. Curtis.
Summerfair will be held in Billings’ North Park, located between 19th Street and 22nd Street just off of 6th Avenue North, on Saturday, July 8th and Sunday, July 9th. This annual event, a fund raiser for the museum and a “fun raiser” for the community, offers a wide selection of arts and crafts booths, children’s arts and crafts activities, a variety of entertainments, food stands, and a wonderful opportunity to enjoy a Summer day strolling through a pleasant park and greeting old friends or making new ones.
July in Billings will be a busy time with the celebration of the bicentennial of William Clark’s visit to Pompey’s Pillar, where he left the only physical evidence of the Corps of Discovery’s journey through Montana on a large upthrust of rock that he climbed to get a better view of the surrounding landscape: his signature and the date, July 25, 1806. The YAM will commemorate the event with an exhibit of “Charles Fritz, An Artist with the Corps of Discovery,” which opens June 3 and runs through August 20. The Fritz collection was created for the Lewis & Clark Bicentennial event and praised for its authenticity by the late Stephen Ambrose, author of Undaunted Courage. A Museum announcement of the Fritz show quotes Ambrose as saying,
“One of the most frequently asked questions on the planning of the Lewis & Clark Expedition concerns Jefferson’s failure to send a professional artist with the Corps. Now, thanks to a carefully researched and historically accurate series of paintings by Montana artist Charles Fritz, Americans have the opportunity to see what Lewis & Clark observed, what they looked like and the people they met on their way to the Pacific. This is a rare chance to step back in time and appreciate the sights of Lewis & Clark’s experience.”
The YAM will host the Lewis & Clark Commission’s VIP reception on Friday, July 21, and Charles Fritz will be speaking about his work at the museum from July 22 through the 25th.
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Yellowstone art Museum Summerfair -
Billings, Montana
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Additions to the Museum
Last November, the museum announced a new treat for art lovers and those who find well prepared, beautifully served food another way of making an artistic statement. Art Beyond the Palette, a wonderful small restaurant, opened just off the main lobby. Lunches are served Tuesday through Saturday from 10 to 3, and tapas are available on Thursdays until 8 p.m. Because the space is limited and the food is so good, reservations are recommended. Plan ahead, and treat not only your eyes, but your palate as well.
In March 2006, Dr. Robyn Peterson was hired as the new executive director of the YAM. Dr. Peterson has a Ph.D. in art history and museum studies and has had a longtime interest in a number of historic artists of the West, including Charles M. Russell.
After paying tribute to the museum staff, its Board of Directors, and the Billings community for “their support for and commitment to high quality, diverse art exhibits and programs,” Dr. Peterson predicted a “leap to the next level.”
“The Yellowstone Art Museum,” she promises, “will be at the forefront of that effort, an effort that will demonstrate that cultural excellence thrives in unexpected places.”
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