Why Charlie Russell Is My Favorite Artist

I was raised a cowboy. To the art of Fredrick Remington and Charlie Russell are near and dear to my heart.

I can just loose myself in looking at them.

But of the two, Charlie is my fav. His style is (t least to me) warmer and more approachable. And he does a perfect job of catching an age that he lived through. His pin and ink drawings in his book Trails Plowed Under catch the warmth and the land he lived in. And I look at the faces of the cowboys and Native Americans, and I can almost swear I know those people.

But one thing I love is his humor. if you look at a lot of his sketches and his paintings, he’s in them. And in most cases, he’s got a grin bigger than the Rockies.

A story I saw on Antique Roadshow concerned a completely unknown Russell. The story that the lady told of the drawing (It was done on a cocktail napkin) was amazing. Charlie was out on the West Coast and was in a restaurant. with several others. The waitress was from Montana and introduced herself. Her and Charlie talked for a few minutes, and then she took his order. When he paid his bill, along with the tip, he gave her his autograph and a quick sketch he’d made, both on the cocktail napkin.

I don’t’ recall what they said it was worth (it was several thousand dollars) but just the story spoke volumes of someone I’d have liked to known.

So, if I had a choice between a Rembrandt and a Russell on the wall, I’d hand Charlie every time.

https://charlesmarionrussell.org/

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