Jay Rummel Missoula Montana Pottery Mugs
Updated August 7, 2026
| Lot number | 638 |
| Estimate | 200.00 - 300.00 USD |
| Category | Pottery, China & Glass |
| Auction | The Richest Hill on Earth - Day 1 |
| Date | August 13, 2026 at 9:59 PM MDT |
| Auction house | Davis Brothers Auction |
| Location | Missoula, Montana |
3 7/8" diameter, 5" tall. A Missoula artist, Rummel was known for his love of Native American and pioneer storytelling, the paintings of Charlie Russell, 1960's psychedelia, folk music and modern art. The Five Valleys Trilogy is one of his most significant works. Three panels are titled, from left to right: Road to the Buffalo, When First Unto this Country, and Lady from Missoula County. MAM's prints are from an edition of photolithographs derived from the original large-scale paintings that Rummel created between 1981-1983 with assistance from Doug Grimm. The paintings were commissioned originally for the Top Hat Bar and are on long-term loan to the University of Montana. The Road to the Buffalo is translated from the Nez Perce name for the Blackfoot River corridor, Cokahlah-ishkit. Local tribes used the foot trail to cross the Continental Divide into the Rocky Mountain Front. Lewis & Clark used the trail in 1806, followed by the Big Blackfoot Railroad, which in the early 1900s transported lumber to the Anaconda mill in Bonner. More recently, conservation efforts have helped the Road to the Buffalo recover from industrial pollution to host excellent fishing and biking trails. When First Unto this Country depicts the landscape and Native American culture that flourished for 10,000 years before Europeans arrived. Lady from Missoula County is the contemporary local art and music scene that Rummel knew well. The print features Missoula most well-known downtown watering holes, local musicians like the Snake River Outlaws, and a crew of Eddie's Club regulars -- including Rummel and Lee Nye, the bartender-photographer who so famously documented the bar's patrons.
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