Page 102 - 2019 Russell Catalogue

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CHARLES M. RUSSELL (1864–1926) Indian with Bow, c. 1900
oil
18 3⁄8 x 12 1⁄4 inches
Inscription: Ll: CM Russell (skull)
$600,000–800,000
Recorded in Charles M. Russell: A Catalogue Raisonnė: CR.NE.389
Indian with Bow is one of the most interesting examples of a recently discovered C. M. Russell oil painting. The site
and trail are likely ones with which Russell was familiar during his late teenage years with Jake Hoover up on the
Middle Fork in the foothills above the Judith River. While the scene it depicts is probably largely the product of the artist’s imagination, it still has elements that for Russell are clearly autobiographical. First, the image of the single
Indian exhibits facial characteristics strikingly evocative of Charlie Russell when he dressed up as a Native American. Second, other photographs of Russell at or about this time show Russell posed on a sawhorse, about to let a deadly arrow fly. Finally, Russell’s Great Falls friend, neighbor, and fellow sculptor Jessie Lincoln Mitchell describes a fascinating discussion with another sculptor, Lorado Taft, after Russell’s death. In her unpublished paper “The White Indian,” Mitchell recalls: “[Taft] asked, ‘Did Russell ever impress you as a white Indian?’ as he adjusted my small statue of Charles Marion Russell the famous western painter. My reply was, ‘Yes, no one could model his face without being struck with the strong resemblance.’”
Later in the paper, Mitchell continued, “Russell not only had the strong features of the Indian, but he had the pronounced characteristics—he was quiet, meditative, and, when he spoke, his voice was low and his words few.” In sum, it seems quite unlikely that Russell had anyone other than himself in mind as the model for this painting.
After decades of being classified as an unlocated Russell work, notwithstanding a photograph of it in the Renner archives, Indian with Bow finally surfaced in 2015 at an Arizona Collectibles art appraisal event at which Bob Nelson, owner of Manitou Galleries, recognized its authenticity and subsequently confirmed it was listed in the Charles M. Russell: A Catalogue Raisonné.
The painting’s owner indicated that it was acquired by a distant relative in Montana who gifted it to his brother in California. It then passed by descent for several generations until it was subsequently sold at The Russell in 2016.
Many of Russell’s works executed around the turn of the twentieth century involve storytelling artistry inspired by his intimate knowledge of Montana landscapes and his creativity in imagining earlier Native American activities that he used to weave entrancing compositions.
Regarding this piece, Brian W. Dippie, Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Victoria, British Columbia writes “Indian 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. This direct engagement with the viewer makes for one of Charles M. Russell’s most compelling single figure compositions.”