Major donations added to Hockaday collection

The Hockaday Museum of Art in Kalispell has received a number of major donations to its permanent collection.

First and foremost is a significant Native American bonnet sometimes referred to as a "Straight Up" bonnet because of the rigid upright position of the feathers, donated by local collectors Dr. Van Kirke and Helen Nelson.

"This bonnet is most likely Blackfoot and probably dates from the last quarter of the nineteenth century," says Mark Miller, a well-known artifact conservator and restorer living in Kalispell, in a description about the bonnet written for the Hockaday Museum. The bonnet is currently exhibited in the Hockaday's "Crown of the Continent: Glacier National Park" permanent exhibit, where it is displayed with a painting by Winold Reiss featuring Bull Boy, a Blackfeet Indian wearing a similar "Straight Up" bonnet.

Other donations to the museum include 32 monthly Great Northern Railroad calendars featuring the artwork of Winold Reiss, dating from 1928 to 1932, donated by a collector in Iowa who located the Hockaday Museum on the Internet while researching Reiss.

Local collectors Paul and Doris Masa donated a Robert Scriver (1914-1999) bronze titled, "Moving On" and Dr. Robert Friess of Columbia Falls donated eight bronzes by Blackfeet artist Gary Schildt from his "Huck Finn" series. Another major donation came from Nancy and John Hubble, who are long time collectors of Blackfeet artist King Kuka. They decided to preserve their collection by donating sixteen of his works to the Hockaday Museum. The King Kuka collection and Gary Schildt series will be on display at the museum in July.

In conjunction with the current exhibit of historical photographs by Herman Schnitzmeyer (1879-1939), Spokane resident Robert Desch, the son of Louis Desch who was a partner of Schnitzmeyer's, donated 22 original silver gelatin photographs by Schnitzmeyer.

"These recent donations represent a very focused portion of the permanent collection that has experienced significant growth over the past two years. Combined with last year's donation of forty new paintings in the western American genre, the Hockaday has formed a very nice representation of Montana's early western artists," added Engh-Grady.

The Hockaday museum will hold a private dedication event in honor of the new acquisitions. Please call the museum at 755-52687 for more information.

It is located at 302 Second Ave. E. in downtown Kalispell. Admission to the to the museum is $5 for adults, $4 for seniors, $2 for students, and $1 for youth, with free admission for museum members.

For more information, call 406-755-5268 or visit www.hockadaymuseum.org.