Page 30 - 2021 March Sealed Bid Catalogue

Lot 13—CHARLES M. RUSSELL—Pony Dance, 1902
Painted in 1902, Pony Dance is a great example of Russell’s mature style at his height of accomplishment as a watercolorist. There is a strong sense of action and complexity as well as depth in the scene depicted. As Rick Stewart states in his monumental assessment of Russell’s strong watercolor technique and artistry, Pony Dance is “a very transparent, loosely painted work depicting a group of mounted Indians charging into battle. The central warrior, wearing an animal-fur hat and holding his rifle high in the air, rears his horse in dramatic fashion and appears to let out a fierce war call. Both rider and horse are covered with painted designs that indicate strong medicine in battle.”
The central figure’s distinctive fur cap topped with eagle feathers bears a resemblance to a coyote pelt turban in Russell’s studio collection at the C.M. Russell Museum. This distinctive hat is featured in several of the artist’s paintings.
Pony Dance has been thought to portray the famous Blackfoot horse thief, White Quiver. Another possibility is that it depicts SikSika Chief Three Bulls, the brother and successor of Crowfoot. Russell’s watercolor may have been inspired by a series of works on the Blackfeet by Frederic Remington in 1887 and 1890 for Harper’s Weekly. Remington made a trip in 1890 trip to see the Sun Dance ceremony, but he arrived too late. Instead, Remington and his companion, the writer Julian Ralph, witnessed a special “pony dance.” Peter Hassrick states, “Plied with gifts of tobacco, tea and sugar, Three Bulls, the successor to Crowfoot, organized what Ralph termed a ‘grand spectacle.’ The event lasted ninety minutes as the small audience ‘watched the glorious riding, the splendid horses, the brilliant trappings, and the paroxysmal fervor of the excited Indians.’”20