Distinctly Montana Magazine

Accounts Ledger Art at the Bair Museum Indians on the reservation to draw about their histories, experiences and traditions, and through either purchase or trade he acquired a large collection of ledger drawings that date from 1880 through 1891. He collected predominantly Crow (Apsaalooke) drawings, but he also acquired several Gros Ventre (People of the White Clay) Indian works. Barstow's collection is known to have been extensive, but by 1930 it consisted of 66 drawings when it was re-discovered in a trunk in Roundup, Montana. The drawings are now in the collection of the Montana State University Billings Library. The Charles M. Bair Family Museum in Martinsdale is presenting an exhibition of 20 of the Barstow Collection drawings from May 13 through August 11, 2013. The drawings embody a wealth of personal, historical and sociological information. They are autobiographical and tribal stories told in both sophisticated and unsophisticated linear styles, but all are compelling individual responses and perspectives. Many of the images depict traditional events such as courtship rituals, dances, and council meetings, while others depict buffalo hunts and battles fought and won. The Bair Museum is open from Memorial Day through Labor Day, seven days a week, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Takes Away the Enemy, Crow, 1888, Takes Away the Enemy was also known as Wraps Up His Tail and Sword Bearer. He was the leader of the Crow Rebellion of 1887 and this image is thought to depict that battle. Pencil, colored pencil and commercial pigment on paper (a government property form). Crow, Drawing of Traditional Crow Hot Dancers, 1882, pencil and commercial pigments on paper. New Bear, Gros Ventre, War Record Drawing, 1884, commercial pigments and ink on paper. See a Gros Ventre dance recorded in the late 1880s DISTINCTLY MONTANA | DIGITAL www.distinctlymontana.com/ledger133 w w w. d i s t i n c t lymo nt a na .co m 27

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