ralph ’tuffy’ berg - grizzly bear

Ralph “Tuffy” Berg, Grizzly Bear, n.d., bronze, 8 ¾ x 7 ½ x 4, Permanent Collection (Gift from The Russell Riders)

COLLECTION PROFILE

February 2004

The Artist:  Ralph “Tuffy” Berg

Ralph Berg, Jr. was born in Great Falls on October 18^th, 1940. While he was growing up, he acquired the nickname “Tuffy” after several bouts with his sisters and cousins, and the name stayed with him throughout his life. He attended local schools, working as a teen for Great Falls Sporting Goods, and graduated in 1958. Though his experiences growing up were focused on the outdoors rather than art, they prepared him well for his later creative works.

After service in the U.S. Marine Corps, he worked for many years as a hunting guide and taxidermist, eventually opening the Montana Taxidermy Shop in Great Falls. Aside from the outdoors and wildlife, his other avid interest was “that damn’d ol’ rodeo.” He loved to challenge the broncs, but was injured several times. While convalescing after a particularly bad injury from a rodeo in Belt, he discovered the work of a local artist, Earle Heikka, and was hooked. He began sculpting in 1972 as a hobby, and became a fixture at the annual C.M. Russell Auction of Original Western Art, receiving five People’s Choice Awards over the years. When he was commissioned by The Franklin Mint and Royal Cornwall Ltd. for several commemorative works, his work received national recognition.

Unfortunately, his career and his life were all too short; he died from cancer at the age of 50 on March 15, 1991. His funeral was held at the C.M. Russell Museum, an unprecedented event, and was widely attended by friends, family, and members of the art community. Despite his untimely death, Tuffy’s tradition lives on thanks to the efforts of his widow, Joyce, who was instrumental in establishing the Ralph “Tuffy” Berg Award, which recognizes new, up-and-coming artists at the C.M. Russell Auction of Original Western Art each year.

Friends of Tuffy Berg:

Tuffy Berg touched many lives, and it is not difficult to find someone who knew him well and remembers him fondly. His warm, outgoing personality allowed him to make many friends, and his love of a good time made him something of a local “character.” Linda Caricaburu summed it up well when she wrote, “I feel a bit like all those folks who claim they knew ol’ Charlie Russell well. It’s the feeling of wanting a connection, however loose, to a person who is somewhat bigger than life.”

Her description of him is apt; Tuffy was one of the last of the “old timers,” and lived the same adventurous life that is depicted in his art. Whether collecting pet rattlesnakes and bobcats as a child, playing practical jokes on his sisters, or hauling a mounted grizzly bear and his rifle out to Monarch to stage “bear attacks” for people driving by on the road, his entire life was a series of stories that could be told over and again. He was always ready for a wild night out on the town, and his excursions became the basis of much of the folklore of Great Falls. People still talk about the time he rode a horse into the old Rendezvous Bar, and another occasion when he and his friends caused quite a commotion by letting a coyote loose in the Cowboy’s Bar. If a book of local tall tales is ever written, Tuffy Berg will be a prominent figure in it. Ron Gusick opined that it would have been more fitting if Tuffy had died battling a grizzly bear or a rattlesnake, giving the world one more extraordinary adventure to add to the legend of Tuffy Berg.

In spite of his notoriety, Berg didn’t seem to think of himself as legendary, and was a bit perplexed by his success as an artist. In person, he was modest, with a self-deprecating sense of humor which was interjected into any and all conversation. “There are people who tell me I’m an artist,” he said once. “Now, it’s true that I make a living at it, but I don’t know if that gives me the credentials.”

The Work:  Grizzly Bear

The scene depicted in this bronze sculpture, which was a gift to the museum from the Russell Riders, could very well be a backpacker’s worst nightmare. A playful pair of grizzly cubs is rummaging around through a backpack as their mother, alerted by approaching footsteps, stands guard. It is all too easy to imagine a hunter or hiker coming back to retrieve his pack and finding this unexpected surprise. It is a true example of Berg’s talent that he is able to convey a scene which is both humorous and potentially quite serious. One can only speculate as to whether the backpacker ever retrieved his pack and hat, or simply made a prudent and discreet exit.

Like Charlie Russell, Tuffy Berg and his art were shaped by “the great outdoors.” Tuffy was an avid hunter and wildlife watcher, and was also very adept in the art of taxidermy. His life-long interests in these activities are reflected in the way that the bears are portrayed, the natural curves of their musculature, and the realistic postures that are frozen in time. Spending most of his time outdoors and observing animals not only gave him inspiration for his art, but also allowed him to make his pieces truly realistic. Tuffy himself said, “When you see enough, some of it’ll soak in no matter how much of a dummy you are.”

Tuffy Berg was unique in that he painted his bronze sculptures, giving them a life-like quality, almost as though his subjects had stepped out of a photograph and assumed three dimensions. His wildlife sculptures manage to take on a life of their own, a characteristic which is largely due to the fact that Berg was a product of his outdoor experiences. As he said, “It’s such an advantage to grow up where you can see wildlife.”

Other excellent examples of his work are Family Tree—Bobcats, which won both the Juror’s and People’s Choice Awards at the Russell Auction in 1986, 50/50—Chipmunks, and Old Pickins—Magpies. When you are in Helena, be sure to visit the Montana Historical Society, which purchased one of Berg’s sculptures, titled Morning Snack, of a bear eating a trout. The sculpture was purchased through proceeds from Helena’s Western Rendezvous of Art. Tuffy was an early supporter of the Rendezvous, and it is fitting that his work is featured in the state’s collection of art.

For More Information:

Much of the information for this profile came from conversations with friends and family of Tuffy Berg. The C.M. Russell Museum would like to extend wholehearted appreciation for the opportunity to meet with these people and discuss Tuffy’s life.

Various Articles from the Great Falls Tribune, 03/16/1991, 03/17/1991 and 03/24/1991.

Selected Internet Sources: www.askart.com, www.helenair.com

Swanson, Jo-Ann, “Ralph ‘Tuffy’ Berg—Made in Montana,” Southwestern Art,

                March, 1988.

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This program is partially sponsored by the Steele-Reese Foundation