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.
Paintings by Charles Marion Russell
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