Grizzly Riders International

NEWS & MEDIA

Rembrandt's etchings of outsiders span master's career
By JAMIE KELLY of the Missoulian                      March 11, 2008

They were the poor and disabled and mentally ill outcasts of Rembrandt's day, and he loved them.

From the Dutch master's earliest days as an artist, he granted the street people of the

a deep humanity and dignity that no other artist would touch.

And so Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn made them his own, even the ones who urinated in the streets or hobbled around town on wooden legs looking for a rat to eat.

“He had a feeling and an empathy for the impoverishment of these peoples, the ones who didn't play by the rules,” said Valerie Hedquist, an art historian at the University of Montana who specializes in 17th century Dutch art.

Hedquist's excitement these days was inspired by a new traveling exhibition at the Montana Museum of Art & Culture. “Sordid and Sacred: The Beggars in Rembrandt's Etching,” on view through April 29, is one of the most important art displays in the museum's history. It is on a major national tour through 2010.

Thirty-five original Rembrandt prints, taken directly from his drypoint etching nearly four centuries ago, are on the walls of the museum's Meloy Gallery for public perusal. From the John Villarino Collection, the extremely rare Rembrandts were brought to the University of Montana via the Landau Traveling Exhibitions of Los Angeles, and underwritten locally by Grizzly Riders International, which provides grants for educational, conservation and artistic endeavors at UM.

“In my opinion, this is something very stunning and amazing,” said MMAC curator Manuela Well-Off-Man. “It's a once-in-a-lifetime chance for people to see original Rembrandts.” (Read Entire Article)

Memorial Fund Continues Grizzly Riders’ Love of the West, Interest in The University of Montana

MONTANAN, Fall  2001 http://www.umt.edu/comm/f01/foundation.html

Since its founding in 1966 under the aegis of The University of Montana Foundation, the Grizzly Riders International has included hundreds of men and women on its annual outdoors expedition of horseback riding, fly fishing, hiking, relaxation and general enjoyment of spectacular surroundings.

During the annual excursion, forty to fifty men and women spend four days in a Montana wilderness location or at a dude ranch. In that setting, their affection for the University grows and so does their friendship for each other. As a fitting tribute to deceased Riders, members contribute generously to a memorial fund that has grown to more than $280,000. Interest earned on the endowed fund supports academic priorities at UM.

In keeping with the Grizzly Riders’ interest in the West, wilderness and wildlife, members twice designated their support to wildlife biology scholarships. Last year’s recipients were graduate students, Stephanie Gripne and Brendan Moynahan, who attended the Grizzly Riders annual meeting to thank their benefactors for financial assistance for their studies.

Gripne helped write a proposal for the Bitterroot Watershed Partnership, a community-based collaboration, for the Large-Scale Watershed Restoration Project, which she will use as a case study for her dissertation on community-based natural resource management efforts. Moynahan’s research deals with effects of habitat quality on the sage grouse population in eastern Montana. Both are students of Jack Ward Thomas, UM’s Boone and Crockett Professor of Wildlife Biology and former chief of the U.S. Forest Service.

Progress 2004 - A special report on Montana's Economy and Business

Missoulian                                                                http://www.missoulian.com/specials/progress04/prog06.php                         A shine to jewelry

Custom-made, artistic creations are couple’s specialty

By COLIN McDONALD of the Missoulian

It was 1973, and Barney Jette was the standout student in the metalworking program at The University of Montana School of Art. During his senior year, Jette was asked to design a silver belt buckle for a new UM alumni association, the Grizzly Riders.

It was perfect match: With that commission, which became his senior project, Jette found his niche and his calling. Thirty years later he is still in Missoula designing jewelry for a Montana market that values practicality as much as beauty.

And the Grizzly Riders still wear his belt buckle.

Museum Receives Art Restoration Grants

UM News & Events                                                     Monday February 6, 2006                                          

The Montana Museum of Art and Culture at The            University of Montana has received two grants to preserve, to restore and repair many of the more than 9,000 works in its Permanent Collection.

A $200,000 award was granted through the Chutney       Foundation. The museum also received an additional      $20,000 from Grizzly Riders International, a philanthropic organization that uses national and international contacts to support UM.

The funds will be used to clean and restore more than    140 of the museum’s most important and highly valued   artworks and to preserve works in the Permanent           Collection such as a Spanish altar panel by the Master   of St. Gregory, circa 1490. The grants also will support   costs associated with archival materials, display systems and shipping, as well as ongoing efforts to fully catalogue the sizeable collection.

"We are thrilled at this highly significant support by the   Chutney Foundation and Grizzly Riders International,"      said Barbara Koostra, director of the museum. "Their      generous gifts enable us to reach a new level of           preserving historical and contemporary treasures within   the Permanent Collection, making available many works  never before seen by the public."

Grizzly Riders International was formed in 1966 as a       fellowship that benefits a variety of UM programs through  endowments, scholarships and a memorial fund for past  Riders.

The museum’s Permanent Collection, in existence since  1894 and located on the UM campus in Missoula, is one of the state’s oldest and most prominent cultural reserves.  The Permanent Collection denotes the commitment of important artists and benefactors who have entrusted their collections to the University.

Among the works in the Permanent Collection are such   treasures as the Edgar Paxson Collection of Paintings    and Memorabilia, the Fra Dana Collection of American    Impressionism, the Henry Meloy Collection and Archive,  and the Rudy Autio Ceramic Collection.

Additional museum holdings include historical works by  Frederick Remington, Ralph DeCamp, Julius Seyler, John Fery, William Merritt Chase, Joseph Henry Sharp, Alfred  Maurer and other notable artists. An emphasis on           Montana art, including Native American work, as well as  a collection of Asian art and artifacts, rounds out the collection.

The Montana Museum of Art and Culture’s mission is to  actively engage the UM community and a diverse public in the appreciation of arts and culture through collections stewardship, exhibits and programs that educate and     enrich. The museum’s Paxson and Meloy galleries are    located in the Performing Arts and Radio/Television      Building at UM.

Gallery hours are Tuesday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 4 to 8:30 p.m. There is no charge for admission, and free parking now is available near the northwest corner of the PAR/TV Building.

The traveling exhibition "Frances Senska: A Life in Art" ison view at the museum until Feb. 25.

For more information, call the Montana Museum of Art and Culture, (406) 243-2019, or go online to                   http://www.umt.edu/partv/famus.

Grizzly Riders Support fMontana Museum of Art & Culture

Montana Museum of Art & Culture Newsletter

Roy Moline                                                                 Permanent Honary President                                   Grizzly Riders International