Book Description

Well known for his sketches, paintings, and sculptures of the Old West, Charles M. Russell (1864–1926) was also an accomplished author in the humorous genre known as "local color." Raphael Cristy sorts Russell’s writings into four general categories: serious Indian stories, men encountering wildlife, cattle range characters, and nineteenth-century westerners facing twentieth-century challenges.

Russell’s art is often misinterpreted as mere longing for a fading open-range west, but his writings tell a different story. Cristy shows how Russell amused his peers with stories that also delivered sharp observations of Euro-American suppression of Indians and humorous treatment of wilderness and range issues plus the emergence of women and urbanization as bewildering agents of change in the modern West. ... Read more

Book Description

This first comprehensive biography of Charles M. Russell examines the colorful life and times of Montana's famed Cowboy Artist.Born to an affluent St. Louis family in 1864, young Russell read thrilling tales of the West and filled sketchbooks with imagined frontier scenes.At sixteen he left home and headed west to become a cowboy.In Montana Territory he consorted with cowpunchers, Indians, preachers, saloon keepers, and prostitutes, while celebrating the waning American frontier's glory days in some 4,000 paintings, watercolors, drawings, and sculptures.Before his death in 1926, Russell saw the world change dramatically, and the West he loved passed into legend.By then he was revered as one of the country's ranking Western artist with works displayed in the finest galleries, his romantic vision of the Old West forever shaping our own.

Taliaferro reveals the man behind the myth in his multifaceted complexity:extraordinarily gifted, self-effacing, charming, mischievous, and playful, a friend to rough frontier denizens and Hollywood stars alike.The author also explores Russell's controversial partnership with his fiery young wife, Nancy, whose ambition and business savvy helped establish Russell as one of America's most popular artists. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

"THE" COWBOY ARTIST
Art critics spend much time arguing about the value of western art and as to whether it can really be classified as art at all. Some of the more snobby critics attempt to discredit western painters by referring to them as "illustrators" as if that changes anything. They argue that if an artist is commissioned by other than the loftiest of patrons or if their work is used primarily to illuminate a story then their art can only be classified as illustration and not as fine art.

As an art student I argued this one ad nauseam with my art professors. And invariably the work of Charles Marion Russell, my favorite ARTIST - period - would arise. But that's enough about small-minded art professors and their unwillingness to accept art wherever they find it.

The work of Charles Marion Russell (hereafter CM Russell) is accepted by thousands as arguably the best of the western genre. It remains the standard against which all other western pieces are judged. Russell also was an accomplished western wit who drew and kept the fast friendship of the king of western wit, Will Rogers. In his book Charles M. Russell: The Life and Legend of America's Cowboy Artist, John Taliaferro not only discusses the art achievements of Russell but also provides a biography that paints the life of the artist and the west Russell knew so well in the most vivid colors possible. And indeed CM Russell was the most colorful of characters.

Read this book and I'll bet you will at least become the owner of a CM Russell print and at most plan a pilgrimage to Great Falls to visit CM Russell's museum, studio and home.

"No one comes close"!
As a young boy he heard the words of Horace Greely, and indeed went west to seek fame, fortune, and adventure. After two years with Jake Hoover in the Judith, his dreams of wranglin', and ropin' came true at the O H ranch. Over time the home of the "Big Sky Country" became his perminant domain, and his mother Miss Montana, she blessed her son with a gift that would speek for many of his kind that ventured before him. He illustrated with brush, and canvas. He wrote in scripture, and sculptured in bronze. With his gift, C M Russell was able to protray what it was like to live in a time when spurs, the six-gun, and the feel of leather was a cowhands only cherrished parcel. He became the "Cowboys Cowboy", and the voice of the "Red-Man". Montana's dearest son had done what she wanted him to do. Russell for those who knew him was Loving, Kind, and Loyal. He never forgot his roots, no matter where he traveled. In the end Montana was more than proud of him. For she had raised him as Montanan. Over the years he became a Montanan. And at the end of the trail, he was buried as a Montanan. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Excellent, well-researched, love of subject shines through.
Brian Dippie, as always, spends years of research perfecting his product. His love of writing preparing his books is not compromised by deadlines. Being a professor of U.S. History at the University of Victoria demands authenticity and knowledge! Who would believe a Canadian? The answer lies definitely here. This author is one to be believed and enjoyed.

Years of travel and study liberally doused with a love of the language mirror Charlie Russells love of nature and art but Charlie struggled with language. Dippie translates, transcribes, and transforms for the reader. A DEFINITE BUY! ... Read more

Book Description

The most comprehensive book written on Charles M. Russell's letter, this is a beautifully done hardbound book with dustjacket, 435 pages, extensively illustrated with 764 images, 474 of these in full color. ... Read more

Book Description

This book is the first comprehensive examination of Russell's work as a sculptor. A 400 page hardbound with dustjacket, it has 761 illustrations, 221 of these plates in full color. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

an enlightening book that can be enjoyed over and over
Probably the most well researched book about Charles M. Russell. Even if one is not normally drawn to sculpture, this book could possibly be the one to change your mind. The subjects are varied, inspiring, and beautiful. ... Read more