The Charles M. Russell Legacy Collection celebrates almost 70 years of collecting by the C.M. Russell Museum. The museum’s extensive permanent collection of Russell oil paintings, watercolors, bronzes, clay models, illustrated letters, pen-and-ink drawings, and published illustrations showcase the astonishing depth and range of Charles M. Russell (1864–1926) and demonstrate the remarkable artistic evolution of a largely self-taught genius.

Beauty Parlor
Charles M. Russell (1864-1926)
Montana
1907
watercolor, gouache, and pencil on paper
Gift of the Josephine Trigg Estate
953-1-0006

Russell’s interior tipi scenes focus on the domestic and the intimate, a theme which he began painting in the 1890s, as a bachelor and continued to depict through his first years of marriage to Nancy Cooper.

Deer at Waterhole
Charles M. Russell (1864-1926)
Montana
1905
watercolor on paper
Gift of the Josephine Trigg Estate
953-1-0010

The Fireboat
Charles M. Russell (1864-1926)
Montana
1918
oil on board
Gift of Mrs. Wade George in memory of Wade Hampton George
956-2-1

In this painting, a band of warriors discuss the novel approach of a steamboat using the symbol for fire or smoke in American Indian sign language, a language that Russell himself was conversant in. Both the crook-shaped society lance and the wolf’s head bonnet are important pieces of Plains Indian regalia that mark the leader of the figural group. Here, not only does the lance stand in as a marker of power, but also one of prestige, indicating the figure’s high rank in a men’s society. Visible from afar, these types of status objects announced the presence of an esteemed warrior before he could be identified by other means.

Breaking Camp
Charles M. Russell (1864-1926)
Montana
1897
watercolor and graphite on paper
Group of Great Falls Businessmen
956-4-1

The Jerkline
Charles M. Russell (1864-1926)
Montana
1912
oil on canvas
Gift of Fred Birch
959-5-1

The title of this painting refers to a key piece of equipment used to run a team of horses. The jerk line runs from the lead horse’s bit down to the first freight wagon and controls the movement of the whole team. The wagon master depicted in this painting is Johnny Matheson, who operated a freighting company out of Great Falls. Russell was friends with Matheson and sometimes rode along with him on his freight runs from Great Falls to Fort Benton.

Last Chance or Bust
Charles M. Russell (1864-1926)
Montana
1900
watercolor and gouache on paper
Gift of the John D. Stephenson Family
978-9-1

The title of the work and the name on the covered wagon reveal the destination of the pioneer family: Helena, Montana, which in the 1860s was home to gold and other mining camps. The settlers in this painting appear to be moving down the Mullen Road from Fort Benton to Helena. The Scratch Gravel Hills, four miles north of Helena, can be seen in the background; the hills received their name from the gravel cover which hid gold nuggets.

Russell captures the weariness of travel, the hardships, and the isolation from friends and family back home that many pioneers faced in the hopes of striking it rich. While women’s experiences in the West varied, they were instrumental in helping to establish settlements and community life on the plains.

The Exalted Ruler
Charles M. Russell (1864-1926)
Montana
1912
oil on canvas
Gift of Friends of the Exalted Ruler
995.13.1

Russell was an honorary member of the Elks Club in Great Falls. In 1912, he was asked to contribute something for the dedication of the new Elks Temple, so he painted this scene for them and inscribed it, “To My Brothers.”

Russell’s composition points the viewer to the exalted ruler with the shed antler pointing from the left and the white streaks of snow pointing from the right. The ruler dominates the painting and looks back at the viewer, his exalted status echoed by his placement in the painting, at the apex of the hill.