When C.M. Russell was a boy growing up in Missouri, he dreamed of becoming a cowboy. When he died in 1926 at the age of 62, he was not just a cowboy but also a historian, writer, philosopher, advocate of the Northern Plains Indians, outdoorsman, conservationist and, above all, an artist whose work serves as a telling story of the old American West. Tom Petrie, the foremost private collector of C.M. Russell, grew up reading books illustrated by artists, including C.M. Russell, stirring in him a curiosity and appreciation for art, Western art particularly. He thought then that one day he’d like to own a C.M. Russell of his own. Cut to 1995 when Petrie bought Russell’s “Friends or Enemies,” a 1920s watercolor. Cut to 2016 and Petrie now possesses the largest private collection of C.M. Russell, a product of sheer passion, curiosity and appreciation for the art. In this fireside chat-style program, Petrie will answer questions from Bill Rey of Claggett/Rey gallery about Russell and about what it means to build an art collection that is meaningful to its collector. Presented in partnership with Claggett/Rey Gallery.