AHC Exhibits
Through the Lens: The Life & Legacy of Richard Throssel
The American Heritage Center is excited to host Through the Lens: The Life & Legacy of Richard Throssel. The exhibition features photographs from the collection of the American Heritage
Center (AHC) and was developed by the Western Heritage Center in Billings, Montana.
Richard Throssel spent a decade working with the Crow Indians in Montana at the start
of the last century and photographing them. This exhibit about his life highlights
his unique visual perspective on the tribe—telling their story from the perspective
of an insider.
Born in 1882 in Washington state, Richard Throssel came to southern Montana in 1900
and soon began working at the Crow Indian reservation along the Wyoming/Montana border.
In 1905, he took up photography and in 1906 the Crow adopted him into the tribe.
Throssel’s tribal membership gave him access to tribal activities and to people that
no other photographer had at the time for the Crows or any other tribe. He took more
than 2000 photographs during his association with the Crows, before and after moving
to Billings, MT.
The exhibit tells Throssel’s story and how his work is now recognized as an important
treasure trove of visual information about the Crows and other tribes as they transitioned
from a horse-based nomadic culture to a more settled life on the reservation at the
start of the twentieth century.
The exhibit resulted from an informal partnership between the American Heritage Center
in Laramie at University of Wyoming and the Western Heritage Center in Billings, MT.
The exhibit was curated by Lauren Hunley of the Western Heritage Center from photographs
and negatives preserved in the AHC. Furthermore, several members of the Crow tribe
participated in the exhibit’s design and photograph selection.
The exhibit shares the story of Richard Throssel and how his photographs of Apsaalooke
(Crow), Tsit-tsit-tsa (Northern Cheyenne), and Lakota (Sioux) people provided agency
and insight to indigenous cultures in transition. Lauren Hunley, Community Historian
of the Western Heritage Center, explains, “As a Metis man of Cree and English heritage,
Throssel’s Native ancestry gave him unique entrance and perspective into Native life.
While other photographers are photographing white ideals of romanticized indigenous
life, Throssel is working with his subjects to show their life as they wanted to be
depicted.”
AHC Director Paul Flesher states, “The AHC is pleased that the Western Historical
Center decided to feature the photographs of Richard Throssel held here. We are excited
to be the first location of the exhibit after it finished its run in Billings.”
The exhibit is open 9-5, five days a week. It runs from January 20 to August 29, 2025,
at the UW’s American Heritage Center, 2111 Willet Drive, Laramie, WY. For more information,
visit https://www.uwyo.edu/ahc/exhibits.html or send an email to AHCRef@uwyo.edu.
George A. Rentschler Room
The American Heritage Center’s George A. Rentschler Room is home to significant western
paintings, including thirteen by Henry Farny and one by Frederic Remington. These
paintings appear as they did in the library of Mr. Rentschler, a New York City businessman
and western enthusiast.
Henry Farny (1847-1916)
After studying in Rome, Dusseldorf and Munich as a young man, Farny settled in Cincinnati.
In 1881, he began traveling into the American West, including Wyoming. During his
travels, Farny sketched, took photographs and collected Indian artifacts and photographs.
Returning to his Cincinnati studio, Farny worked from his own illustrations and memory,
relied on his collection of artifacts, and occasionally employed live models to create
his unique style of Western art.
Despite this method of production, Farny’s Indian paintings are considered some of
the most accurate of the genre. His paintings of Native Americans were highly sought
after during Farny’s lifetime, although his work disappeared into near obscurity after
his death. Collectors rediscovered Farny in the 1960s because of increasing interest
in the “true West.”
Frederic Remington (1861-1909)
Frederic Remington studied art at Yale University and took his first trip into the
American West in 1881, the same year as Farny. Although a failed businessman, he became
famous as an illustrator of the West. His first full-page cover artwork appeared in
Harper’s Weekly in 1886 when he was just 25.
In the 1890s, he became a favorite of the American cavalry in the West, especially
the troops led by General Nelson Miles. His numerous paintings of soldiers at this
this time often used a monochromatic palate, which gave a sense of realistic, almost
photographic, quality. The Rentschler Remington painting belongs to this period.
Alfred Jacob Miller
|
NEW UPDATE: The Alfred Jacob Miller paintings are back
from being on loan at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody, Wyoming
and at the Eiteljorg Museum in Indianapolis.
|
The Alfred Jacob Miller paintings from the Everett D. Graff family and Robert C. Graff
art collections appear on permanent display in the American Heritage Center’s new
Gallery One. A young American artist, Miller was commissioned by a Scottish noble,
William Drummond Stewart, to document his expedition from the Missouri frontier to
the 1837 Green River Rendezvous near modern Pinedale Wyoming. During the six-month
journey with Stewart and the American Fur Company, Miller made more than 200 watercolor
sketches. He used these sketches as the basis for large oil paintings he painted to
hang in Stewart’s Murthly Castle in Scotland. Miller was the first European American
artist to capture the interior of the Rocky Mountains. Some of the Murthly Castle
paintings are now at the American Heritage Center.
Marian H. Rochelle Gateway Center Exhibits
The American Heritage Center is pleased to work with the UW Foundation to curate photograph
and image exhibits for the Gateway Center. Three exhibits are now on display.
Floor 1: A Glimpse into Campus Life: University of Wyoming Yearbooks, 1948-1958
As the archives of the University of Wyoming, the American Heritage Center (AHC),
holds numerous collections from UW departments, professors, presidents, students,
and alumni. Many of these folks have had considerable artistic talent they’ve often
used to promote and shine a light on all the culture, classes, and opportunities UW
has to offer.
This exhibit features items from the University of Wyoming’s University Relations
& Media Services records (collection # 512001) held at the AHC. The collection contains
publications of various kinds dating from 1868 to 2000. In this exhibit, you’ll see
covers of student journals, class schedules, distance education, magazines, and other
publications where people in the UW community put their brushes, pencils, carving
tools, and cameras to work for these fantastic covers.
Enjoy this step back in time at UW!
Floor 2: Ranch to Rodeo: Cowgirls of Wyoming
The early and mid-20th century in Wyoming saw women playing an active and essential
role in both ranch life and rodeo culture. These images depict the grit, strength,
and independence of cowgirls who worked the land, managed livestock, and competed
in rodeo events like Cheyenne Frontier Days.
The largest image in this exhibit features Clara Raab Toppan. Raised in Laramie, Clara
graduated from the University of Wyoming in 1931 with an accounting degree and became
Wyoming’s first female certified public accountant in 1945. She went on to work at
Grand Teton National Park, work her husband’s family ranch outside the park, and establish
a private accounting practice in Jackson. She was later honored as a distinguished
alumna of the University of Wyoming and Governor Mike Sullivan declared June 22, 1990,
as Clara Raab Toppan Day. Clara was instrumental in founding the Toppan Rare Books
Library at the American Heritage Center.
All images are from the J.S. Palen Collection (#10472), the Clara and Frederick Toppan
papers (#6802), and other collections housed at the American Heritage Center.
Floor 3: Scoring the Silly Symphonies
Carl W. Stalling (1891-1972) was an American composer whose work in film, music, and
animation helped push the boundaries of what was possible with cartoons and short
films in the 20th century. His work scoring music for various Walt Disney productions
and the Warner Brothers' classic cartoon, Looney Tunes, helped solidify his mark on animation and music history.
Carl Stalling was also a noted innovator in the motion picture industry, with his
invention of the tick method, a film technique used as standard practice to combine
scored music with animated scenes.
The American Heritage Center at the University of Wyoming is proud to feature selected
materials from the Carl Stalling papers (#5725). This collection contains original
music scores and cue sheets from Stalling’s most famous works, other commercial music,
photos of celebrities, correspondence, and other material related to the motion picture
industry. In addition, the collection features original hand-drawn sketches from Ub
Iwerks, the original artist of Mickey Mouse and other Silly Symphonies shorts, such as “The Skeleton Dance.”
The historical significance and material content within the Carl Stalling papers make
it a favorite of many researchers, employees, and visitors of the American Heritage
Center.
Virtual Exhibits
Please browse the more that 30 virtual exhibits, designed to help you explore specific
themes from AHC collections. A selected group of images will provide a brief introduction
to the topic and to the types of related material.
 |
|
 |
Pet-owners have had a fascination with photographing their pets since long before
the advent of the smart phones or social media. Many of the American Heritage Center's
collections contain photographs of beloved family pets, dating back as far as the
turn of the century.
|
 |
When the transcontinental railroad united the nation in 1869, it was the age’s greatest
engineering achievement. Technologic marvels of steel and wood, railroads filled the
space around them with iron, heat, steam, exhaust, noise and smells. Yet they were
and remain romantic. The art displayed here reveals that enticing passion even as
it presents the railroad’s reality.
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
From 1970 to 1997 Carrie Arnold rendered pen and ink sketches of historic western
scenes for her friend Bill Lagos’ annual Christmas cards. Many of her sketches centered
on the architectural landmarks of two small Wyoming mining towns, Hartville and Sunrise,
Bill Lagos’ home area.
|
|
|
Today, homecoming celebrations are often associated with fall and football, but it
may not always have been true.
|
|
|
Matthew Shepard, a gay student at the University of Wyoming, was beaten and left to
die in a field outside Laramie, Wyoming, during the night of October 6-7, 1998. To
honor Shepard’s memory and continue efforts to strengthen compassion and inclusivity
in our community for LGBTQIA+ and all social identities, the American Heritage Center
curated this exhibit in 2018 to complement a staged reading written by Gregory Hinton,
“The Matthew Shepard Story: In Conversation with Rulon Stacey.”
|
|
|
Vera Glaser (1916 - 2008) was a reporter, journalist, and a pioneer for women’s rights.
She paved the way for the Task Force on Women’s Rights and Responsibilities.
|
|
|
Finis Noel Mitchell (c. 1901 – 1995) was an American mountaineer who spent his life
exploring the Wind River Range near Lander, Wyoming. He photographed and documented
much of the expansive mountain range, as well as led fishing trips up into the mountains
with the purpose of passing his information on to later generations. In his lifetime
he took over 100,000 photos of the Wind Rivers and surrounding areas, giving insight
into his life in the mountains.
|
|
|
Larry Adler's career as a famous harmonicist began early in life and spanned the globe.
His musical talent offered him opportunities to entertain American troops during WWII
with the USO and brought him into the film industry. In 1949, Alder was accused of
communist ties and investigated by the House Committee on Un-American Activities.
These accusations changed the path of his career in the United States.
|
|
|
This exhibit shows bookplates found within the Fitzhugh Collection that present heraldic
imagery and qualities. The collection seeks to decipher the meaning and symbolism
of each bookplate including heraldic coloring, animal choice and symbolism, mottoes,
and style, as well as printing process used, allowing for the examination of provenance
as it pertains to the importance of history in rare books.
|
|
|
As of 2018, Wyoming State Standards in Social Studies include a heightened focus on
the Indigenous Tribes of Wyoming. The AHC houses unique collection of photographs,
audio, video and print resources that have captured portions of historical Indigenous
life in the Rocky Mountain West. This exhibit pairs these resources with K-5 content
standards to help teachers supplement their curriculum and activities.
|
|
|
The American Heritage Center's "Gallery One" is a public exhibition space which primarily
exhibits the Center's large collection of paintings by famed artist Alfred Jacob Miller
which, unless on loan to other institutions, are permanently displayed in this space.
|
|
|
Charles J. Belden is famous for his photographs that depict the western American ranch
lifestyle.
|
|
|
On his way to the 1837 Fur Trade Rendezvous, Alfred Jacob Miller sketched and painted
countless images of the American West, the people at the trade, and the culture that
was included with the event.
|
|
|
The Baker and Johnston Photographs collection contains original glass plate negatives
of Native Americans primarily from the Shoshone, Arapahoe, and Apache tribes, and
includes portraits of Chief Washakie, Geronimo, and General Crook.
|
|
|
The Al Christie collection contains silent film era production files and publicity
materials, primarily for Christie Film Company silent films. This exhibit highlights
a selection of publicity stills from the 1926 film "A Nervous Wreck."
|
|
|
Joseph S. Palen was a veterinarian, historian, and writer. His collection is the culmination
of over half a century of research and collecting on the subject of the American West,
especially in the history of rodeo and Cheyenne Frontier Days.
|
|
|
In 1944 Ozzie and Harriet Nelson started their own comedy radio program, "Adventures
of Ozzie and Harriet," which depicted their own family life and featured their two
sons, David and Ricky. The show moved to television in 1952 and lasted until 1966.
|
|
|
Clay Blair, Jr. was a well-known author, journalist, and military historian. He volunteered
for submarine service in World War II and was decorated with the Submarine Combat
Insignia and the Asiatic-Pacific Theatre Medal with three battle stars.
|
|
|
Roald Fryxell was an anthropologist and geologist in the mid-1900s who discovered
the “Oldest Man In America” at the Marmes Rockshelter and examined sediment samples
brought back from the moon during the Apollo Space Missions. The work he completed
before his untimely death furthered our scientific knowledge of the lunar surface
and life on Earth.
|
|
|
Olaus and Mardy Murie were leading conservationists of their time. They spent many
years advocating for the protection of untouched land and the wildlife that resides
on it. Through their work they were able to change the way that conservation efforts
are carried throughout America.
|
|
|
The variety of images taken by professional and snapshot photographers during the
Vietnam War provide an interesting visual portrait of America’s involvement in Vietnam.
This exhibit includes images from renowned war correspondent Richard Tregaskis as
well as from the personal collection of war veteran Craig Tiernan.
|
|
|
The story of the pronghorn in Wyoming is a story of abundance. This exhibit shows
some of the many ways that people and the pronghorn have interacted and highlights
the important role the pronghorn maintains in this state as well as around the world.
|
|
|
A United Airlines flight departed from Denver, Colorado on the morning of October
6, 1955 bound for Salt Lake City, Utah. The following day, rescue teams composed of
experienced mountaineers were called in to a plane wreck on the face of Medicine Bow
Peak near Laramie, WY.
|
 |
|
This exhibit features 10 large maps of Laramie from 1875 to 1965, and one large Albany
County map from 1886. Each map includes a brief description of the growth of Laramie
and highlights features on the map, including businesses, schools, churches, hospitals,
and street names. The Albany County Map shows a much larger county that, at the time,
extended north to present-day Crook County.
|
|
|
|
Elmer Lovejoy, of Laramie, is recognized for inventing and driving the town's first
automobile and patenting designs for the first automatic garage door openers. Through
his shop and mechanical skills, Lovejoy crafted ground-breaking inventions that remain
useful today.
|
|
|
Through his photographs, writings and personal appearances Stephen Leek was instrumental
in building public support for saving the Jackson Hole elk herd that culminated in
the establishment of the National Elk Refuge in Jackson.
|
 |
The Knight family were important figures when it came to discovering dinosaur fossils.
They used their skills as geologists and paleontologists to help spread information
to the world.
|
|
|
The University of Wyoming campus features a rich mixture of historic buildings and
growing infrastructure. Discover the history of some of UW’s oldest buildings and
the people they were named for.
|
 |
During the course of its 43 year run, "Stampede" became the largest weekly syndicated
cartoon feature in the agriculture sector of both the United States and Canada, reaching
a weekly audience of more than 2 million readers. Explore a selection of some of Palen's
best comics.
|
|
|
This is the story of three women who, as elected office holders, challenged and changed
the conventional understanding of equality in Wyoming.
|
|
|
Discover the reactions, both positive and negative, to the Black 14 incident and how
it fit into the national conversation of the time.
|
|
|
In 1871, Ferdinand V. Hayden was tasked with leading the first federally funded geological
survey to explore the region soon to become Yellowstone National Park. Hayden's report,
along with the artwork and photographs made on the expedition, played a prominent
role in convincing Congress to designate Yellowstone as America's first national park.
|
|
|
What motivated the American government to place thousands of its own citizens in concentration
camps during World War II? Discover the history of internment camps in America and
get an inside look at Wyoming's camp at Heart Mountain.
|
|
|
Discover the story of Wyoming's tallest dam.
|
|
|
Alan K. Simpson is a well known name in Wyoming and across the country due to his
political career spanning 1964-1997. Simpson, however, wore many hats throughout his
working years.
|
|
|
While some southern Wyoming Union Pacific railroad towns existed for only a matter
of months then became ghost towns, others prospered and became permanent communities.
All of these “Hell on Wheels” towns contributed to the construction of the engineering
marvel which was the transcontinental railroad
|
|
|
In 1902, Owen Wister published his Western novel "The Virginian". Its impact upon
Western literature, drama, and film continues to be felt to this day.
|
|
|
The AHC's Toppan Rare Books Library is home to the University of Wyoming's rare books
collection. This exhibit uses a selection of the Toppan collections to highlight the
contributions of eighteenth-century women to literary culture.
|
