Why'd They Put That In A Museum?
Art. Objects. Museums. Ideas. Questions. What happens when you put things on display and invite people in to look? Have you ever seen art on display and wondered, “Why’d they put that in a museum?” Museum curator Sarah Lees and author Beth Bacon start each conversation with one item, in one specific museum. We explore the object, its history, and the cultural ideas surrounding it. In the end, that object takes on new meaning as listeners discover the fascinating reasons it ended up in a museum.
Why'd They Put That In A Museum?
Battle of Little Bighorn by Stephen Standing Bear, Part 1
In this first episode of a two-part discussion, Beth Bacon, Sarah Lees, and guest speaker Christina Burke, discuss a painting by Lakota artist Steven Standing Bear. The artwork is a large-scale painting of the Battle of the Greasy Grass, which is also known as Little Bighorn, or the Custer Battle of June 25th, 1876. Standing Bear was a participant in this battle as a teenager. He became a fine artist and painted this enormous depiction of the battle. Christina Burke, a curator and expert in Native American art, reviews the painting's three main sections in detail: The native American encampment, the battle scenes, and a section showing many horses. With Beth and Sarah, Christina discusses the details of the piece, emphasizing the cultural narratives the artwork represents. They also talk about the historical context of Standing Bear's life, including his participation in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. This is the first part of a two-part episode of the Why'd They Put That In A Museum podcast, focusing on an extraordinary representation of the Battle of Little Bighorn.
© 2025 Why'd They Put That In A Museum podcast hosts Beth Bacon and Sarah Lees.
