Page 175 - 2015 Russell Catalogue

235JOHN DEMOTT Charlie Working his Magic (Eaton Party, 1916)oil36 x 48 inches$50,000–75,000Howard Eaton was one of the Russells’ most significant friends. Along with his two brothers, Howard owned a large cattle and sheep operation called the Custer Trail Cattle Company. The Eatons frequently played host to many eastern friends, including Teddy Roosevelt. Howard Eaton referred to easterners as “dudes.” Howard Eaton created the concept of the dude ranch. From the ranch in North Dakota, the Eatons guided hunting parties and pack trips into Yellowstone. The parties traveled in style, with wagons full of food and tents. The Eatons’ pack trips became so popular that by 1904, they had expanded their operation to the Big Horn Mountains in Wyoming along the Bozeman Trail.Their success spawned other dude ranches that were located near railroads like the Great Northern and the Union Pacific. The railroads advertised dude ranches to folks back east so the vacationers would ride the rails to their summer adventures. Charlie Russell’s art was a natural choice for illustrating advertising brochures. Eaton knew that Russell would be a great entertainer for his clients, telling wonderful tales of the West around the campfires at dinner time. Nancy saw the potential for developing a wealthy clientele for Charlie’s artwork.In July 1915, the Russells and the dudes went on their first pack trip into Glacier Park with Howard Eaton. Nancy was pleased that a professional photographer, Almeron J. Baker, came along to document the excursion. Images of Charlie Russell the outdoorsman hamming it up for the dudes would read well in the newspapers.In October 1916, the Russells accepted an invitation from Eaton to accompany him on a trip to the Grand Canyon and the Navajo Southwest. Charlie wrote to artist friend Ed Borein about the Navajo: “They are not like the Indian I know but everything about them spelt wild people and horsemen in a mixture of dust and red sunlight that made a picture that will not let me forget Arizona.”Of all the photos that Baker gave Nancy of the two adventures, the most famous was an image of Charlie modeling a figure out of wax as the members of the Eaton party looked on attentively. Charlie Working His Magic depicts the artist entertaining dudes as he models a horse out of wax.—John DeMott