About

The various Bair Collections are displayed in the art museum and in the Bair family home; family photos and memorabilia are displayed in the Bair Barn. Collections include Western American paintings, European and American paintings, Native American objects, Edward S. Curtis photogravures from the North American Indian series, late 19th and early 20th century Navajo weavings, Georgian period furniture and silver,  and an eclectic collection of European decorative and fine arts objects.

The Bair Collection includes paintings by Charles M. Russell, Joseph Henry Sharp, James Kenneth Ralston, Lewis Henry Meakin, Charles Tredupp, William Henry Drake, Edward Potthast, John Frederik Herring and George Cole, Edouard Leon Cortes, Dietz Edzard, and Suzanne Eisendieck. The collection also includes the first five volumes of Edward S. Curtis’s The North American Indian, several late 19th and early 20th century Navajo artists’ weavings, and over 70 Native American objects representing several Native cultures. Curtis photogravures and the Navaho weavings are displayed in small groups on a rotating basis for conservation purposes.

The  display of historic European furniture, silver and decorative objects in the house are displayed as the family left them, with only minor alterations made to accommodate for tours and security. Notable items include silver by Paul Storr, several elaborately adorned Louis XV commode chests, many exquisite examples of Georgian period furniture, and English and French porcelain.

The collections showcase the legacy, tastes, and eclectic interests of Charles Monroe Bair (1857-1943), his wife Mary Jacobs Bair (1863-1950), and their daughters Marguerite Bair Lamb (1889-1976), and Alberta Monroe Bair (1896-1993). Each object tells a story about how and when it came into the collection, who selected it and why.