Thomas Figarelle: Executive Director, C.M. Russell Museum - Epi. 194, Host Dr. Mark Sublette

I had Tom Figarelle on the podcast today and he's the Executive Director of the C.M. Russell Museum in Great Falls, Montana. This podcast is unique because we get to hear the extent of Tom's love for his hometown which is Great Falls, MT. It's where he's from, where his parents are from, and where he lives and works to honor a historical figure that loved Great Falls just as much. The idea that a Western artist who died in 1926 can have such an impact on the world of art, but also have an immense influence on the state of Montana where he's kind of a superstar... It's mind-boggling stuff.

You see, I'm very fortunate in my personal, most recent connection to the C.M. Russell Museum. I was actually invited to go and lecture there on August 20th of this year (2022) at this massive Charles Russell show that they have. There's a  major auction component to the show and they give out an award, the Western Heritage Award, which I'm very fortunate to be the recipient of this particular year. I encourage everyone to listen to this and if you can come out and see the show in August, it sounds like it's going to be an amazing event.

I guess what really amazes me is that in some parts of the world, in some parts of America, there are artists that can break through and we can really see how important these people are. So I was thrilled to talk to Tom because he really could talk about this in a very intimate and personal way, having grown up in Great Falls and really kind of ended up with his dream job of being the executive director of this museum.

Learn more about the upcoming show and auction at the C.M. Russell Museum:
https://cmrussell.org/
https://cmrussell.org/experience/upcoming-events/
406-727-8787
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