Western Art News
Painter W. Steve Seltzer receives the Josephine Trigg Award at the C.M. Russell Museum in Great Falls, Montana.
On September 6 the C.M. Russell Museum honored painter W. Steve Seltzer with the prestigious Josephine
Trigg Award for his contribution to Western art, including his role in contributing to the art community at the museum in Great Falls, Montana. The award is named after Josephine Trigg, a friend, neighbor and admirer of Charles M. Russell who bequeathed her extensive personal collection of Russell art, letters and sculptures to the museum.
“Steve Seltzer’s talent and generosity have been instrumental in growing the strong Western art community that we enjoy today,” says Tom Petrie, C.M. Russell Museum board of directors chairman. “With this year’s Josephine Trigg Award we are proudly recognizing a dedicated man who has carried forward his family legacy of friendship with Charlie Russell for over 50 years.”
Not only has Seltzer been involved with the museum since its very first C.M. Russell Art Auction, now known as The Russell: An Exhibition and Sale to Benefit the C.M. Russell Museum, but he also has a special connection to the museum’s namesake. Seltzer’s grandfather is Western painter O.C. Seltzer, who met Russell for the first time in 1897. O.C. claimed the fortuitous meeting as “the most important that ever happened in his life,” one that led to a 30-year friendship with Russell and a career that included 2,500 works of art.
“Russell had a tremendous impact on my grandfather’s life, so I find it very fitting that the
C.M. Russell Museum has had the same on mine,” says Seltzer. “I am humbled to receive the Josephine Trigg Award from an institution that has helped me to nurture the spark of my heritage into a fulfilling profession as an artist.”
Seltzer is an active member of the Russell Skull Society of Artists and has created more than 100 pieces of art for the auction that benefits the museum. He continually shares his talents with the Great Falls community in public demonstrations and art classes. The Josephine Trigg Award comes in advance of a significant O.C. Seltzer exhibition planned for the fall of 2019. Following this temporary exhibition, the C.M. Russell Museum will open a new permanent gallery dedicated to Russell’s contemporaries, including O.C. Seltzer, as well as artists of ensuing generations.
For more information about C.M. Russell Museum, visit www.cmrussell.org.