Page 134 - 2015 Russell Catalogue

192CHARLES M. RUSSELL (1864–1926) Scouting Party, [The War Party No. 6], 1900Sarah Burt, the Chan and Clara Ferguson Chief Curator for the C.M. Russell Museum, recognized Scouting Party as one in a series of Russell paintings that feature White Quiver, the legendary Blackfeet warrior, remembered as the greatest horse raider of his time. Burt remarked, “In Scouting Party, a gorgeous oil from 1900, Russell identifies the famous fighter by his wolf-skin bonnet with a single eagle feather. White Quiver is leading a band of warriors down a craggy mountain trail. He has suddenly stopped the descent because, by the tilt of his head, it is clear that he has either spotted or heard something on the trail ahead.”Spectators may only guess at the action about to come. Russell leaves to the viewer’s imagination all the conclusions about how this scene unfolds. “Employing one of his favorite storytelling devices, Russell presents an unresolved moment in the picture narrative, leaving it up to the viewer to decide what will happen next,” Burt explained.Charles Marion Russell (1864–1926), The Horse Thieves, 1901, oil (Private Collection)Charles Marion Russell (1864–1926), When I was a Kid, 1905, watercolor and gouache on paper (C.M. Russell Museum, donated by Frederic G. and Ginger K. Renner in memory of Graham D. Renner)Perhaps it was Jake Hoover’s cabin that White Quiver saw in the distance during this descent. The setting for Scouting Party is reminiscent of the mountainous terrain heading out of the Little Belt Mountains, downthe South Judith River to the location of Hoover’s homestead in thePig Eye Basin. Jake Hoover was a mountain man—hunter, trapper, and prospector—who made a living supplying fresh meat to miners and cowboys in Montana’s Judith Basin. Russell lived with the iconic Hoover off and on for a couple of years after he moved to the territory in 1880. Over the years, the artist retold stories of scary visits by Blackfeet warriors who came by the cabin. Russell also painted a similar rocky descent to stage his own arrival. The painting titled When I Was A Kid (1905) shows “Kid Russell” leading a pack train down the mountain to Jake Hoover’s cabin.