Charles M. Russell

born St. Louis, Missouri, 1864; died Great Falls, Montana, 1926

BiographyBorn in St. Louis in 1864, Charles Marion Russell was just 16 when he moved to Montana Territory, where he found work as a night wrangler for various Montana cattle outfits. In the late 1880s he began working as an illustrator, publishing images in magazines including Harper’s and Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper. He began painting full time in 1893, establishing a studio in Great Falls, Montana. Russell’s firsthand experiences with both the cowboys and the Native Americans of the region became the core of his work. In 1904 he lived in New York City for several months, spending time in the studios of fellow artists and receiving advice from art editors at leading periodicals. This informal training in New York transformed his career and greatly refined his painting techniques. Throughout his life, much of Russell’s commercial success can be attributed to his wife Nancy Cooper Russell, who became his business manager. After 1919, the couple spent their winters in Pasadena, California, befriending western film stars and art enthusiasts in Hollywood. After Russell’s death in Great Falls in 1926, Nancy continued to promote his artwork and legacy for the rest of her life.

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