Charles M. Russell Museum in Great Falls, MT

Sunday, 25 may, 2014

We decided to stay over one more day so we could visit the Charles M. Russell Museum. We are so happy that we did since we spent almost the entire day just ooing and aweing and enjoying the paintings, bronze sculptures, animals and all the western Indian relics that were on display. There were every type of Plains Indians regalia as well as their women and children. The storys that all of it told about the 20 or 30 different tribes that were in the general area and surrounding counties was just so interesting we couldn't get away. I took pictures until I was told NO PHOTOGRAPHS and I had to comply since there were camera every where you looked.. Most of my photos were in his cabin which was a work shop and his studio.

Charles Marion Russell (March 19, 1864 – October 24, 1926),^[1][2] also known as C. M. Russell, Charlie Russell, and "Kid" Russell, was an artist of the Old American West. Russell created more than 2,000 paintings of cowboys, Indians, and landscapes set in the Western United States and in Alberta, Canada, in addition to bronze sculptures. Known as 'the cowboy artist',^[3] Russell was also a storyteller and author. The C. M. Russell Museum Complex located in Great Falls, Montana houses more than 2,000 Russell artworks, personal objects, and artifacts.

Russell's mural titled Lewis and Clark Meeting the Flathead Indians hangs in the state capitol building in Helena, Montana. Russell's 1918 painting Piegans sold for $5.6 million at a 2005 auction.^[4]

I hope the above is helpful in introducing Charles to you. To justly describe all his art works as well as his associates would be almost impossible. It's just awesome.  He loved "the west and horses".  This seems an understatement but after a day in the museum, that's what it comes down to. 

The museum is a large building (behind the studio and his home is to the left) that fronts to the next street.  It has most of Russell's work and many items of other artists on loan or donated to the museum.  

                          His studio and workshop with his motto, the buffalo head, in the stone fence.

The buffalo head was his motto on all his work.

                                      There were many Indian garments with beautiful beadwork.

                                                                One of many self portraits.

One of the bronze statues of him with children

                                            The elk with the Russell home in the background.

Tomorrow we will head toward Calgary, Canada. We may not be able to send anything until we get to Alaska. Have to talk to Verizon  and AT&T tomorrow