The museum presents an exhibition from its permanent collection of works by Theodore Waddell (b. 1941, Billings, Montana). Waddell stands as a leading figure in modern and contemporary Western American art. Bridging traditional Western narrative with abstract modernism, Waddell has developed a visual language that is both regionally rooted and emotionally expansive. Through painting, sculpture, and printmaking, he draws from a range of influences from Western author illustrators like Wil James (1892-1942), or painters of the American west like C.M. Russell (1864-1926), to American abstract expressionists such as Robert Motherwell (1915-1991) to present a deeply personal vision of the American West.

His lithographs and paintings depict recurring motifs of cattle, horses, and expansive skies evoking both solitude and memory. The works often reduce subjects to expressive, abstract forms that reflect the emotional landscape of the rural West. Waddell’s works engage with the mythos and mortality of Western life, they exemplify blending minimalist composition with gestures to create works that are meditative, symbolic, and rooted in place.

In recognition of his contributions, Waddell received the 2015 Montana Governor’s Arts Award. His work is held in major museum collections, including the Denver Art Museum, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Booth Museum of Western Art, Buffalo Bill Center of the West, and the National Museum of Wildlife Art, Yellowstone Museum of Art, Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art, including other great institutions across the United States.

This exhibition is curated from the Permanent Collection by Nicole Maria Evans, Chief Curator & Director of Curatorial Affairs at Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art. Exhibitions at the museum are supported in part by the Montana Arts Council, a state agency funded by the State of Montana, and the National Endowment for the Arts. We are funded in part by coal severance taxes paid based upon coal mined in Montana and deposited in Montana's cultural and aesthetic projects trust fund. Additional funding is provided by museum members and the citizens of Cascade County, Davidson Family Foundation, D.A. Davidson, Montana Credit Union, Hotel Arvon, First Interstate Bank, an anonymous donor, and Kelly’s Signs & Design.