Charles Marion Russell
Charles Marion Russell was one of the greatest
painters of the American West. He was born in Oak Hill, Missouri
in 1864 and died in 1926. Russell created more than 2,000 paintings
of cowboys, Indians, and landscapes set in the Western United States.
His mural entitled Lewis and Clark Meeting the Flathead Indians
hangs in the state capitol building in Helena, Montana.
His childhood years
Art was always part of Russell's life. As a child, he drew sketches
and made clay figures of animals. He had an intense interest in
the wild west and would spend hours reading about and watching explorers
and fur traders who frequently came through Missouri. At the age
of 16 he left school and went to Montana to work on a sheep ranch.
Later years
In 1896, at the age of 32, he met Nancy Cooper who was 18. They
were married on September 9, 1896. In, 1897 they moved from Cascades
to Great Falls, Montana where Russell spent most of the rest of
his life. He had a son who attended school in Great Falls. On the
day of Russell's funeral, all the children in Great Falls were released
from school so they could watch the funeral procession. Russell's
coffin was displayed in a glass sided coach pulled by four black
horses.
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