Denver - Civic Center: Denver Art Museum - Charles Marion Russell's In the Enemy's Country által wallyg

Charles Marion Russell's <i>In the Enemy's Country</i>, was executed about 1921--just five years before the artist's death. Russell portrays a party of Northern Plains Indians on a scouting mission in another tribe’s territory. The setting sun spreads a quilt of color behind them as they advance alongside their horses. Their wariness—embodied in every aspect of their poses and expressions—heightens the sense of drama. The painting’s idealized narrative reflects Russell’s firm belief in the desirability of a life lived in harmony with nature. The Denver Art Museum, a private, non-profit museum, is known for its collection of American Indian art. Its impressive collection of more than 68,000 works includes pieces from around the world including modern and contemporary art, European and American painting and sculpture, and pre-Columbian and Spanish Colonial art. The museum was originally founded in 1893 as the Denver Artists Club. In 1918, it moved into galleries in the Denver City and County Building, and became the Denver Art Museum. In 1971, the museum opened what is now known as the <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/wallyg/4980490717/">North Building</a>, designed by Italian architect Gio Ponti and Denver-based James Sudler Associates. The seven-story structure, 210,000-square-foot building allowed the museum to display its collections under one roof for the first time. The <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/wallyg/4980449653/">Frederic C. Hamilton Building</a>, designed by Studio Daniel Libeskind and Denver firm Davis Partnership Architects, opened on October 7, 2006 to accommodate the Denver Art Museum's growing collections and programs.