Page 106 - 2015 Russell Catalogue

154CHARLES M. RUSSELL (1864–1926)Untitled Card with Signatures (Cowboy Riding a Steer) watercolor4 x 6 1⁄2 inchesSigned “CMR,” lower left with bison skull trademarkThe silent film superstar actor Harry Carey and his wife Olive joined with Will and Betty Rogers to hold a sixtieth birthday bash for Charles Marion Russell in March 1924. The Careys hosted the birthday party for Charlie Russell on their ranch near Los Angeles. Serving as master of ceremonies, Will Rogers supplied some first-rate entertainment for the evening. The guest list included many of the friends and acquaintances Nancy and Charles Russell had made during their winters in Los Angeles in the 1920s.Russell painted this souvenir card so the guests could gather the signatures of all who attended and take home a keepsake to remember the special event. In addition to Harry Carey, Will Rogers, and C.M. Russell, the roll call included artists Edward Borein, Joe De Yong, and Jack W. Smith. Smith was the chair of the Biltmore Salon where Russell was exhibiting work in 1924. Charles Fletcher Lummis and Gene Stratton-Porter represented the literati of Los Angeles. Lummis was owner and editor of the nationally acclaimed Out West magazine. He was also an activist for Indian rights and historic preservation and founder of the Southwest Museum in Los Angeles. A best-selling novelist, naturalist, and photographer, Stratton-Porterwas well-known in Hollywood as one of the first women to form a movie studio and production company. Leading Lady Pauline Frederick and the actress Mignonne Golden also graced the festive occasion. All these personalities signed this souvenir card.The highlight of the evening was a performance by the most famous man in the world, Will Rogers, the American cowboy, vaudeville performer, humorist, social commentator, and motion picture star. It was a great party, according to Joe De Yong, “so prettily arranged, and such good talkers, that everyone was much surprised when they found how time had flown. He [Rogers] kept the crowd rolling and laughing until they were weak. He gets $1,000 per performanceas an after dinner speaker so at that rate the bunch here got about $10,000 worth of wit and humor for nothing. The party did not break up until two in the morning.”$35,000–45,000 PROVENANCE• Charles M. Russell• Will Rogers• Betty Rogers• Bob and Paula Love (Will Rogers’ niece)• Private Collection, OklahomaLot #154 includes a copy of a photograph taken by Clarence SinclairBull of Will Rogers and Charles Russell at Goldwyn Studios during the filming of A Poor Relation (1921) and a book by Ben Yagoda, Will Rogers: A Biography (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1993). Also included is a 21 x 18 inch oil portrait of Will Rogers by Kansas artist Louis ShipShee, dated c. 1941.