Charles Marion Russell Paintings

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Charles Marion Russell Biography

American painter and sculptor
born 1864 - died 1926

Friend of: Olaf C. Seltzer (1877-1957)

Charles Marion Russell - Montana's most famous artist, and, along with Frederic Remington, one of the two most famous artists ever to paint the West - was born in St. Louis, Missouri on March 19, 1864. He came to Montana in 1880, at the age of 16, just four years after Custer's fatal last stand at the Little Big Horn.

His first job in Montana was sheepherder - and Charles Marion Russell was terrible at it. "I'd lose the damn things as fast as they put 'em on the ranch," he said later. Fired from that job, he helped professional meat hunter, Jake Hoover, spending about two years learning about Indians, wildlife, and Montana's past.

In 1882 Charles Marion Russell went to work as a cowboy, working as night wrangler on cattle drives and round-ups. During the bitter cold winter of 1886-1887, Charlie was staying on the O.H. Ranch. In a reply to the owners of the ranch who asked about the condition of their herd, Charlie drew a sketch of a gaunt, starving cow surrounded by wolves, and titled it "Waiting for a Chinook" The sketch was reproduced in the Montana newspapers, and is still today one of best-known Charles Marion Russell paintings.

Charlie Russell died on October 24, 1926, of heart failure, and he was deeply mourned by the entire state of Montana. In Great Falls, city offices and schools were closed on the day of his funeral. His first roundup boss, Horace Brewster, told the newspaper, "He never swung a mean loop in his life, never done dirt to man or animal, in all the days Charles Marion Russell lived."

All the time Charles Marion Russell continued his oil painting, spending long hours sketching the wild animals he observed in his daily life. Two years after moving to Montana he hired out as a cowboy, to keep watch on horses, and later as a "night hawk" to watch the cattle at night. Russell was constantly sketching during his off hours and was slowly developing a local reputation as an artist. In 1888, Russell had his first national exposure when one of his sketches appeared in Harper's Weekly, his first paid illustration. His years as a cowboy were to be very important in his art. His firsthand experiences and his intimate knowledge of the cowboy's tools and ways were to produce the distinctive realism that is characteristic of his style. Charles Marion Russell portrayed actual events and people in his paintings. Many legends and stories of the West that he often used in Charles Marion Russell paintings were originally heard by him in evening discussions and camp talk during his years as a cowboy. Russell was also a fervent admirer of the American Indian and often portrayed them as heroic figures struggling to preserve their way of life. In the winter of 1888-89, he lived with the primitive Blood Indians in Canada. By 1892, Russell was a full-time painter.

Charles Marion Russell oil paintings were popular in Montana and he was occasionally publishing an illustration for a book or story in a magazine. Charles Marion Russell was, by nature, a friendly and convivial person. Having no concept of earning his living as a painter, Russell would usually give his sketches and paintings to friends and, at times, would paint a commission for the local saloon in exchange for his bar debts. Although Charles Marion Russell was becoming famous, he was realizing very little financial gain.

On September 9, 1896, Russell married Nancy Cooper and moved to Great Falls. Nancy immediately became his business manager. She slowly and carefully built up his reputation and stopped his practice of giving away Russell art. He began to sell Russell paintings at good prices and together, Charles Marion Russell and Nancy began to enjoy the rewards of fame. In 1898, he cast his first bronzes at the Roman Bronze paintings foundry in New York. They were small items but sold well. In 1899, Charles Marion Russell Pen Sketches were published, a collection of prints of cowboy life. These were quickly successful and reprinted in several editions. By 1903, Russell had a national reputation. He built a log-cabin studio in Great Falls that he stocked with a large collection of artifacts and memorabilia of his cowboy days. In the winter of 1903, Charles Marion Russell and Nancy went to New York top promote his first eastern art exhibition. On the way, they stopped in St. Louis, where he had several paintings in the Louisiana Purchase International Exposition. The New York trip was a failure as they did not sell any Charles Marion Russell paintings. The next year, Nancy persuaded Russell to try again and they returned to New York. They sold several oil paintings and were able to get his small bronzes established at Tiffany. In addition, he became swamped with orders for illustrations. In 1909, Russell exhibited at the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition in Seattle, and in 1911, Russell had his first important one-man show in New York, at the Folsom Gallery.

That same year, he was commissioned by the State of Montana to do a mural for the Montana House of Representatives, Lewis and Clark Meeting the Flathead Indians. In 1914, Charles Marion Russell had a successful show at the Dore Galleries in London. By 1915, he was a complete success, getting large prices for Charles Marion Russell paintings and selling all that he could produce. Success, however, did not change his character or charm. He was still the friendly cowboy and he could not understand why people paid so much money for his work. In 1920, his health began to weaken. Charles Marion Russell and Nancy would spend winters in California to avoid the rigors of the Montana climate. After several years of poor health, Russell died of a heart attack on October 24, 1926, at the age of 62.