Mist and clouds interrupt the ocher, pastel orange and pink of the unfolding Grand Canyon.
A flailing horse, powerful back arched and all four hooves off the ground, tries to throw the skilled cowboy clutching the reins. In the fading twilight, a group of horses wait outside an adobe saloon for their riders.
A Native American hunter in an exquisite headdress readies a spear during a buffalo hunt.
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Stunning mountains and canyons, stampeding buffalo and bucking broncos are just a taste of the newest exhibition at the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art.
“Titan of the West” showcases the art collection of Kenneth “Bud’ Adams, the former owner of the Tennessee Titans who died in 2013. Adams had amassed a group of more than 300 depictions of the American West, as well as clothing, pottery, smoking pipes and other artifacts from Native Americans.
In his will, Adams bequeathed the artwork to the Eiteljorg, a significant addition to its existing collection.
“It’s a rich and quite beautiful collection,” said James Nottage, vice president and chief curatorial officer of the Eiteljorg Museum. “You can appreciate that both Native and non-Native cultures have beautiful artistic traditions. They may be done with different techniques or materials, but in each case, they’re reflective of cultural ideals and values.”
The exhibition will feature 60 paintings. In order to tell stories of the West, the exhibition will be arranged by themes — how art can convey the culture of those who lived in that rugged land, and how it can also reflect tribal identify for native populations.
Visitors will peer through a window into the West in the late 1800s and early 1900s, portrayed in masterpieces by artists such as Frederic Remington, Charles Russell and Thomas Moran.
Works by representatives of the Taos Society of Artists such as E.I. Couse and Oscar Berninghaus capture the rich color and stunning visuals of the Southwest.
Some of the most unique pieces come from little known artists such as Emil Lenders, whose portrait of Osage chief Bacon Rind captures an important leader in Oklahoma.
“Lenders was kind of obscure,” Nottage said. “(Adams) recognized the importance of major names, and he certainly collected them. But he collected many different artists.”
At the same time, the collection also includes 90 authentic items used by Native American tribes. Exquisite beadwork of the Crow, baskets woven by members of the Cherokee and clothing from the Osage are all part of the exhibit.
“It’s an unusual thing that he collected both Native American artifacts and traditional art of the West. His interest in the West was real, and you can see this in the collection itself,” Nottage said.
Adams was a wealthy Houston businessman and rancher whose family was active in the oil and natural gas industry. He was the owner of the Houston Oilers — later the Tennessee Titans — and helped co-found the American Football League, which eventually merged with the National Football League to create professional football as we know it now.
Much of his identity stemmed from his experiences in the oil fields of Texas and Oklahoma. But just as central was his Cherokee heritage. He was an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation, whose ancestors had been forced from Tennessee on the infamous Trail of Tears.
“He was very conscious of his heritage; I think it was one of the things that motivated his collecting,” Nottage said.
Adams also had Indiana ties. He graduated from Culver Military Academy in 1940, a connection that let directly to his relationship with the Eiteljorg Museum.
The Eiteljorg and the Indianapolis Museum of Art had co-produced an exhibition in 1993 featuring art collections of Culver alumni. Adams was one of the collectors featured in that exhibition.
Throughout the years following the show, the museum had remained in contact with Adams. Museum officials such as Nottage and CEO John Vanausdall would take time to meet with him at his home and office in Texas.
Whenever the Titans came to play the Indianapolis Colts, Vanausdall would invite Adams to the museum.
“It was clear that we were interested in his collection. But we did not know that it was going to be given to us,” Nottage said.
Unbeknownst to the museum, Adams had bequeathed his entire Native American and Western art collection to the Eiteljorg. Vanausdall received a phone call following his death informing of the arrangement.
From the family’s perspective, it was a fitting home for the art.
“The Eiteljorg Museum is one of the premier museums of Native American artifacts and Western art in North America, and it is appropriate that these priceless treasures will be housed at the Eiteljorg permanently,” said Amy Adams Strunk, Adams’ daughter, in a statement. “This collection was very special to my father, and our family hopes that those who view these items on display will walk away with the same sense of wonder and appreciation for the culture and heritage that these unique artifacts and works of art represent.”
The collection was moved to the Eiteljorg in the spring of 2015, and staff members have been working since then to catalog and research each piece.
They did thorough condition surveys and worked to ensure the pieces are preserved and ready to be displayed. That meant checking leather and beaded artifacts for remnants of heavy metals such as mercury and arsenic that may have been left behind.
“It’s just due caution, but we didn’t have any problems,” Nottage said.
The exhibition will open Nov. 12, and run through Feb. 5.
Besides capturing important pieces of art from the American West, the donation also helped make the Eiteljorg’s own collection more well-rounded, Nottage said.
The museum is already a leader in that specific genre, as one of only two institutions east of the Mississippi River to feature both Native American and Western art. The influx of more than 300 works only makes that stronger.
“This helps enrich our collection, filling gaps in our holdings and are an acknowledging of the importance of the Eiteljorg Museum,” Nottage said.
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Titan of the West
What: An exhibition of 60 paintings and 90 Native American artifacts focusing on life in the American West, all from the collection of Kenneth “Bud” Adams, former owner of the Tennessee Titans.
Where: Eiteljorg Museum of American Indian and Western Art, 500 W. Washington St., Indianapolis
When: Nov. 12 through Feb. 5, 2017.
What’s included: Notable parts of the exhibition include paintings by Frederic Reminington, Charles Russell and Thomas Moran; beaded and quilled clothing from Plains tribes, pottery and weaving the Southwest, Cherokee basketry, as well as horse gear, smoking pipes and moccasins.
Admission: Adults, $13; seniors age 65 and up, $11; youths ages 5 to 17, $7; children 4 and under, free; Native Americans and IUPUI students and faculty, free.
Special programs:
- Nov. 12: Opening day programming, including a public presentation at 1 p.m., as well as gallery talks at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.
- Dec. 2: Noon to 12:20 p.m., “Highlights of the Adams Collection,” a discussion of the best of “Titan of the West” led by James Nottage, vice president and chief curatorial officer.
- Jan. 6: Noon to 12:20 p.m., “Charles Schreyvogel, Moving Pictures,” a discussion of the work of painter Charles Schreyvogel led by Nottage.
- Feb. 3: Noon to 12:20 p.m., “Visions of the Southwest: Paintings of Taos and Santa Fe in the Adams Collection,” led by associate curator of Western art Johanna Blume.
Information: eiteljorg.org
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