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2016 SympOSium“Animals, Art, and the Environment”Educational SymposiumMans eld Convention Center, Missouri Room March 19, 2016“Art and Nature in the American West”Introduction by Michael Duchemin, Ph.D. Executive Director of the C.M. Russell Museum e C.M. Russell Museum’s Wildlife Art Initiative provided the inspiration for e Russell Educational Symposium in 2016. “Animals, Art, and the Environment” seeks to promote a greater understanding of the relationship between art and nature in the American West through presentations by noted scholars of Western art and history and a leading member of the Russell Skull Society of Artists who is working to keep the traditions of Charles M. Russell alive and accessible to Western art a cionados in the twenty- rst century.Sarah L. BurtC.M. Russell Museum Chan and Clara Ferguson Chief Curator 2010–2015Born in Albion, Nebraska, Sarah Burt was a long-time resident of Kansas City, Missouri. She was adedicated scholar with a bachelor of ne arts degree in graphic design and art history, a master of artsdegree in Asian Art history and a master of science degree in journalism, capped o with Ph.D. coursework in American art history.Burt’s passion was evident in her writing, research, and curatorial skills. Her quiet demeanor was transformed when she began a lecture or a tour. Her in-depth knowledge of Western art, artifacts, and the social and political forces impacting an era were remarkable. Whether a tour or lecture, time with Sarah left lasting impressions on her audiences.Her impact was broad in scope. She served for ten years as projects manager for the Georgia O’Kee e Foundation in Santa Fe, New Mexico. creating the O’Kee e oral history archive that lead to the National Historic Landmark nomination for the O’Kee e Home and Studio in Abiquiú, New Mexico.At the Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha, Nebraska, Burt oversaw several major collections of Western and American Indian art, including the internationally signi cant Karl Bodmer watercolors of the Upper Missouri River.In 2010, Burt became the Chan and Clara Ferguson Chief Curator for the C.M. Russell Museum in Great Falls, Montana. She oversaw the museum’s collection of Charles M. Russell art, personal e ects, home, library, and studio, as well as American Indian art and artifacts. Her scholarship, passion, and dedication to excellence are remembered in her many contributions to the preservation of our Western heritage. e board and sta of the C.M. Russell Museum dedicate the 2016 Symposiumto the memory of our friend and esteemed colleague, Sarah Burt.