ART OF THE ANGLE

by BARRY MOSER, WESLEY W. BATES, AND CHRIS WORMELL

SPONSORED BY TRAVELERS’ REST CONNECTION

Tour Schedule

  1. CM RUSSELL MUSEUM  June 11 – December 23, 2026
  2. GLACIER ART MUSEUM January 15 – May 15, 2027
  3. LIVINGSTON DEPOT FOUNDATION June 1 – September 6, 2027
  4. THE ART MUSEUM OF EASTERN IDAHO September 11 – November 6, 2027
  5. CARBON COUNTY ARTS GUILD & DEPOT GALLERY January 3 – February 28, 2028

Exhibit Details

  • 35 woodblock prints on paper framed.
  • 24 @ 16.5″ x 12.5″, 11 @ 9.5″ x 11.5″
  • 2 boxes; 29″ x 49″ x 25″
  • Available April 2026 – December 2028
  • Up to 6-weeks: $500/ 7 – 12-weeks: $800
  • Integrative Resources: Educational curriculum for school aged children will focus on how a sense o place shapes stories, hisotry, and art. Copies of the three books will be included with the exhibit. Travelers’ Rest Connection will work with John Maclean to coordinate a video interview to share alongside the exhibit or on the borrowing institution’s website.

The Art of the Angle brings the Maclean Family Illustration Collection, 1989-2023, to the place that inspired beautiful illustrations in three beloved books: A River Runs Through It by Norman Maclean, Home Waters by John Maclean, and the 100th anniversary edition of Ernest Hemingway’s Big Two-Hearted River.

The exhibit features 34 wood engravings by a trio of artists: Bary Moser (American, b. 1940), Wesley W. Bates (Canadian, b. 1952), and Chris Wormell (English, b. 1955). 

A River Runs Through It was published 50 years ago, in 1976. The book’s timeless themes of family and fishing, told in rich, personal prose, continue to connect with audiences of all ages. Home Waters builds on a father’s legacy as a writer, fisherman, and family historian. In a preface written for the 100th anniversary of Hemingway’s seminal story, Big Two Hearted River, John Maclean tells of reading and discussing the story with his father in childhood. 

The wood engravings are somehow both spare and detailed, evoking the rich colorful landscape of Western Montana and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula through black lines on white paper. The illustrations of each book capture the central truth of each of these famous fish stories – that the solitary fisherman is never alone. They recall the hands that tied the intricate flies, conversations with family members and friends no longer here, and places where lasting memories are made. 

The Art of the Angle was originally organized by the National Sporting Library & Museum in 2025. It is brought to Montana by Travelers’ Rest Connection, the nonprofit partner of Travelers’ Rest State Park.

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