Charles M. Russell (1864-1926) is a famous painter and sculptor who specialized in western art images. Born in Saint Louis, Missouri, he was fascinated with the west and moved to Montana in his teens. He tried various ranch jobs sketching what he saw and at age 32 married Nancy Cooper, who became his business manager. Under her support and guidance, Russell gained national recognition.
At age 24 while working as a herder for a cattle ranch he drew a sketch of a starving steer and sent it back to the ranch owner to describe the plight of his cattle. This water color titled Waiting for a Chinook was displayed at a Helena saloon and brought him his first recognition as a local artist. He gave up cowboying a few years later to devote himself full time to art.
The “wild west” was very popular at the time so Russell focused on western images and experimented with cast bronzes. He is probably best known for those today although he continued to sketch and paint. The strong feelings of life his images bring are what make him still popular today.
His art is very rare because he came to the art world late in life and original sculptures are even harder to find. Most of the things you see today have been recast from the original molds.
There is a good book about him that you can get at Amazon.com
Charlie Russell’s work is amazing. I was lucky enough to see the Charlie Russell museum in Great Falls when I lived in Montana.