Page 120 - 2015 Russell Catalogue

175CHARLES M. RUSSELL (1864–1926)Untitled (Indian on Horseback), 1898watercolor11 x 14 inchesSigned “C.M. Russell,” lower left with bison skull trademarkThis untitled painting referred to as “Indian on Horseback” is an excellent example of Russell’s early single-figure studies. Russell abandoned the cowboy life in 1893, when he started painting full time in Great Falls and Cascade, MT. William F. Niedringhaus of St. Louis provided important commissions to help launch the career of the “Cowboy Artist.” The quality of Russell’s early works and the authenticity of his Montana scenes are evidenced by the presence of two C.M. Russell paintings in the Montana Pavilion at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Further recognition came from the Art Union in St. Louis, which awarded Russell a one-man show in 1895.This painting was created after Charles Russell married Nancy Cooper in 1896 and moved to Great Falls, MT. Russell was earning income from paintings and drawings like “Indian on Horseback” to illustrate national magazines, including Recreation, Western Field and Stream, and Sports Afield in 1897. Russell achieved additional national exposure when six of his works appeared as halftone illustrations in Emerson Hough’s book The Story of the Cowboy (1897). Russell produced this portrait while preparing watercolors for his first New York exhibition at the Macbeth Galleries in 1898.$150,000–250,000Recorded in Charles M. Russell: A Catalogue Raisonné: CR.NE.799PROVENANCE• Charles M. Russell• John Thorley Reeder• Present owner by descent