Lecture | Rise of the Glamour Species: Russell, Railroads, and American Conservation Policy

In conjunction with the Sid Richardson Museum’s exhibition Russell’s Retreat: Summers at Glacier National Park , this lecture explores the sweeping environmental and cultural changes that transformed the American West during Charles M. Russell’s lifetime. Russell had a front-row seat to these changes, and the works he created in and around Glacier National Park offer a compelling visual record of a nation in transition. From the closing of the frontier and the expansion of railroads to the rise of tourism and growing concerns over natural resource exploitation, Russell’s Glacier paintings reveal the social and political forces that shaped the early conservation movement and national park policies in the early twentieth century. Certain animal species were ignored or actively suppressed, while others—such as bears, mountain sheep, and deer, the charismatic wildlife featured prominently throughout the exhibition—emerged as symbols of wilderness worth protecting. This lecture examines how and why these “glamour species” rose to prominence and explores the broader historical forces that shaped American conservation, tourism, and ideas about wilderness in the early twentieth-century West. Speaker: Dr. Todd Kerstetter, Professor of History, Texas Christian University Registration Required - Opens August 11 American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation may be provided during this event upon advance request. Ages: 18+ Contact: Director of Adult Programs at adulteducation@SidRichardsonMuseum.org or 817.332.6554 if you have any questions or would like to be added to the wait list when registration is full.