Page 113 - 2019 Russell Catalogue

148
CHARLES M. RUSSELL (1864–1926) A Stagecoach: Illustrated Greeting Card watercolor, pen, ink, and pencil
3 3∕10 x 6 3∕10 inches
Inscription: Ll: CMR (skull) 1920
PROVENANCE
• Granville Bennett
• Subsequent owners by descent • Private collection, Montana
$50,000–70,000
Recorded in Charles M. Russell: A Catalog Raisonné: CR.NE.811
Originally created for a well-regarded Great Falls Episcopal minister, Granville Bennett, lot 148 contains a unique piece of Russell artwork featuring calligraphy by his dear friend and neighbor, Josephine Trigg. For the special exhibition The Josephine Trigg Collection at the C.M. Russell Museum, curator Emily Wilson writes, “Both artists in their own right, Josephine [Trigg] and [Charles] Russell collaborated on number of poems, placards, and holiday greetings that were sent to friends with Russell providing the illustration and Josephine the calligraphy. The resulting works of art appear as effortless as they are refined—intimate, crafted, and personable reflections of a balanced partnership.”
Museum education and programs manager Eileen Laskowski points out, “The penmanship Josephine Trigg used... is unique in its own right. The letters are neither of Spencerian script technique nor the later Palmer method of handwriting.... While her penmanship may pay homage to script techniques, Josephine Trigg’s handwriting style is her own—combining art with hand lettering and bringing together the experience she and Charlie shared in their friendship through teamwork, collaboration, and creativity.”
W.T. Ridgley, Josephine Trigg (pictured), Charlie (pictured), and Nancy Russell at
a Dearborn Picnic, 1898, black and white photograph, 4 x 5 inches. C.M. Russell Museum Collection, gift of Richard Flood II (975-12-0149.11)