Lot 97
  • 97

Charles Marion Russell 1864 - 1926

Estimate
400,000 - 600,000 USD
Log in to view results
bidding is closed

Description

  • Charles Marion Russell
  • Buffalo Hunting
  • signed C.M. Russell with the artist's skull device and dated '94, l.l.
  • oil on canvas
  • 20 by 24 in.
  • (50.8 by 61.0 cm)

Provenance

C.R. Smith, Washington, D.C.
M. Knoedler & Co., New York
W.R. Coe, Southampton, New York
Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth, Texas, 1961 (sold: Coeur d'Alene, July 31, 1999, lot 203, illustrated in color)
Acquired by the present owner at the above sale

Literature

Frederic G. Renner, Charles M. Russell: Paintings, Drawings, and Sculpture in the Amon Carter Museum, Austin, Texas, 1966, p. 33, illustrated
Karl Yost and Frederic G. Renner, A Bibliography of the Published Works of Charles M. Russell, Lincoln, Nebraska, 1971, p. 64
Louis Chapin, Charles M. Russell Paintings of the American West, New York, 1978, p. 104, illustrated on the back cover
Brian Dippie, Looking at Russell, Fort Worth, Texas, 1987, p. 55, illustrated

Condition

Very good condition, lined. Under UV: pin dots of retouching in sky.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Catalogue Note

Charles Marion Russell's work reflects all aspects of late nineteenth-century western life, particularly the experiences of cowboys, emigrants and Native Americans. Born in St. Louis, Russell grew up reading James Fenimore Cooper's novels of the frontier and dime store westerns, all the while dreaming of living the life of a cowboy. When Russell was fifteen, his parents, frustrated by the boy's poor academic record and frequent truancy, arranged a trip to Montana, hoping that a summer out West would instill direction and discipline in their son. Much to his parents' disappointment, however, Russell never returned home. He had arrived in Montana immediately following the great western cattle boom and soon found work, first as a horse wrangler, then as a cowboy.

While in Montana, Russell frequently encountered local Indians whose territories were forcibly receding as a result of the growing cattle business and became friendly with various members of the Blackfeet, Arapaho, Kootenai and Crow tribes. In 1888, Russell spent time living with the Bloods, now known as the Kainai Nation. He made close friendships and hunted with its tribesmen, learning their language, legends, and customs, including the meaning of their symbols and emblems, which he used in his paintings. He became close to the chief, Sleeping Thunder, who tried to persuade Russell to marry one of the Indian women. In later years, the artist continued to focus on Native American culture in his work and made annual trips to Indian festivals, determined to continue to portray their way of life.

Peter Hassrick writes, "Of the recurrent themes in Russell's oeuvre, none was more thoroughly explored than the buffalo hunt. Except for a few early works in which Anglo hide hunters were portrayed in the methodical decimation of the herds, buffalo hunting for Russell was generally a grand enterprise reserved for the pre-reservation Indian. That Indian, symbolizing the Rousseauian natural man, was the single most significant symbol of the West for Russell. Such traditions as the buffalo hunt were far more profound than any of the ephemeral proficiencies of his fellow cowboys, and these traditions represented timeless and universal values that only the arts could preserve. Civilization had crushed the plains cultures. Despite the fact that the artist's vocation as a cowboy had indirectly caused the final depletion of the bison, Russell followed a self-enlightened mandate to celebrate and preserve the Indian image as noble. Just as he struggled to humanize the cowboy, he strove to idealize the Indian" (Charles M. Russell, p. 50).