Page 69 - TheRussellCatalogue2017

2017 SympOSium
In his adult years, Combs became a voracious reader of anything Russell. He has spent many years collecting books and Russell memorabilia, and he has loaned pieces to several institutions for special exhibitions. He has served
as a consultant and contributed images to several contemporary books on Charlie Russell. Combs continue to study his childhood hero through books and discussions with other Russell scholars. He is also a collector of great and valued friends who share his unbridled thirst for knowledge about Charlie Russell’s life and art.
Photo left: Writer/producer Paul Zalis with location scout and C.M. Russell ephemera collect.or Jim Combs.
Credit Gus Chambers
Gus Chambers lming on location.
Credit: Gus Chambers.
Jim Combs, Panel Speaker, Advisor
Jim Combs recalls staring at a print of the Russell painting Two of a Kind
Win on the wall of the upstairs bedroom of his grandmother’s ranch house in the Flint Creek Valley during his childhood. So began his passion for Charlie Russell, the artist. His early experiences with Russell’s art transported him to a time and place in which he imagined himself living the life of a cowboy in the wilds of Montana. Boy Scout and school trips to the C.M. Russell Museum and log cabin studio where he could see, and even touch, objects and listen to stories of Russell’s early life and development as a renowned artist stimulated a great passion for getting to know Charlie Russell, the man. Combs feels very fortunate to live in the Great Falls area, where he can seek out and visit the places and scenes so vividly and beautifully portrayed in Russell’s works.