Page 120 - TheRussellCatalogue2016

153CHARLES M. RUSSELL (1864–1926) Indian with Bow, c. 1900oil18 1⁄2 x 12 inchesIndian with Bow takes dead aim at the viewer. You can move your head side to side or try to duck, but there is no dodging that arrow; it is aimed at the spot right between your eyes. is direct engagement with the viewer makes for one of Charles M. Russell’s most compelling single gure compositions.A naturally gifted modeler working in wax or clay, Russell always had the ability to see gures in the round. But throughout the 1890s, he ordinarily showed subjects broadside. Bu alo hunts, roping scenes, Indians on the move, and running battles all ow across his paintings, the horizontal format giving his gures room to roam. Indian with Bow represents a di erent artistic strategy. Russell wants to box in the subject. A lone warrior advances down a narrow trail, his drawn bow and arrow targeting something, leaving what to the viewer’s imagination. e vertical format creates a constricted space that makes confrontation unavoidable. ere is no room to escape. e arm holding out the bow is an exercise in radical foreshortening intended to grab and retain the viewer’s attention.A student of Russell’s art notes the resemblance of the Indian in this painting to Russell himself. He liked to dress up inthe tribal regalia on display in his studio and was often photographed in face paint and wig “playing Indian.” Usually, he wore leggings or was wrapped in a blanket, but for a painting presumably of a bu alo hunt, he was photographed in just a breechclout with drawn bow, twisting his torso to achieve the desired pose. In one of the photographs, the artist leans toward the camera, about to release an arrow, much like the mounted warrior in Indian with Bow. ought to date from about 1900, the painting may actually date a few years earlier. e mounted Indian resembles the foreground gure in Russell’s ne 1895 oil On the Warpath, which shows a war party picking its way down a steep ridge, and is kin to the lone warriors in several Russell paintings from the late 1890s. None is more striking than Indian with Bow. Bold in conception and execution, it hits the bull’s-eye.$750,000–1,250,000Recorded in Charles M. Russell: A Catalogue Raisonnė: CR.NE.389 PROVENANCE• Purchased by a Montana Rancher from the artist• Private collections throughout the 20th century by descent• Private ownership collectionBrian W. Dippie Professor Emeritus of History University of Victoria, British Columbia