Lot Essay
Charles Marion Russell's paintings of the American West hold a distinguished position as some of the most authentic portrayals of the rigorous lifestyle of the people that inhabited that rugged region. Russell favored several themes which he returned to time and again. One of these was the conflict between man and the grizzly bear, which cropped up in various works throughout his career.
Russell's talent as a storyteller was almost equaled to his talent as a painter. The Price of His Hide narrates an event in the life of two of Montana's game hunters. "Hank Winters and his partner, Bed-Rock Jim, were prospecting in the Big Snowy Mountains when their camp was raided by a bear. Winters decided he would have the bear's hide and the following morning started to trail the animal. As Winters told the story: I plunge into the brush through the timber lookin' for trouble, an' it ain't long till I find it. I hear a roar like all hell's turned loose, an' that bear's on me before I can bat an eye. I fire one shot but I'm so rattled she goes wild. Before I can throw in another ca'tridge he knocks the gun loose from my hand and his claws tear my right sleeve from the shoulder down, cuttin' my arm plumb to the bone, Just as everything turnin' black, I hear Bed-Rock's Winchester an' the way he throws lead shows he ain't no stranger to a gun. When I come to I ain't got rags enough to pad a crutch."(F. Renner, Charles M. Russell, Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture in the Amon Carter Museum, New York, 1974, p. 234) Similar to his other highly acclaimed works, Russell has paused the action momentarily, leaving the viewer to draw their own conclusions about the events leading up to the scene or its consequences.
Russell, who accompanied friends on hunting trips solely for the purpose of observing "the wild animals he had come to know so well during his youthful days in the Little Belt Mountains" (R. Stewart, Charles M. Russell: Masterpieces from the Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth, Texas, 1992, p. 52) naturally took a great deal of interest in the powerful, giant grizzly bear. A contemporary book described the habits of the ferocious animal: "the best way to hunt them is to study their habits, familiarize yourself with their range, and lie in wait for them near their feeding grounds. Not only is the grizzly phenomenally quick to catch every sound, not only is his sense of smell amazingly developed, but he is particularly cunning in guarding himself against danger from the rear, and his senses are at least matched by his shrewdness." (Charles M. Russell: Masterpieces from the Amon Carter Museum, p. 52) Certainly this animal was the most formidable enemy that a frontiersman could have, and perfectly fitting that "no artist painted the grizzly bear, even in death, with more authority than Russell." (Charles M. Russell: Masterpieces from the Amon Carter Museum, p. 52)
Russell's talent as a storyteller was almost equaled to his talent as a painter. The Price of His Hide narrates an event in the life of two of Montana's game hunters. "Hank Winters and his partner, Bed-Rock Jim, were prospecting in the Big Snowy Mountains when their camp was raided by a bear. Winters decided he would have the bear's hide and the following morning started to trail the animal. As Winters told the story: I plunge into the brush through the timber lookin' for trouble, an' it ain't long till I find it. I hear a roar like all hell's turned loose, an' that bear's on me before I can bat an eye. I fire one shot but I'm so rattled she goes wild. Before I can throw in another ca'tridge he knocks the gun loose from my hand and his claws tear my right sleeve from the shoulder down, cuttin' my arm plumb to the bone, Just as everything turnin' black, I hear Bed-Rock's Winchester an' the way he throws lead shows he ain't no stranger to a gun. When I come to I ain't got rags enough to pad a crutch."(F. Renner, Charles M. Russell, Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture in the Amon Carter Museum, New York, 1974, p. 234) Similar to his other highly acclaimed works, Russell has paused the action momentarily, leaving the viewer to draw their own conclusions about the events leading up to the scene or its consequences.
Russell, who accompanied friends on hunting trips solely for the purpose of observing "the wild animals he had come to know so well during his youthful days in the Little Belt Mountains" (R. Stewart, Charles M. Russell: Masterpieces from the Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth, Texas, 1992, p. 52) naturally took a great deal of interest in the powerful, giant grizzly bear. A contemporary book described the habits of the ferocious animal: "the best way to hunt them is to study their habits, familiarize yourself with their range, and lie in wait for them near their feeding grounds. Not only is the grizzly phenomenally quick to catch every sound, not only is his sense of smell amazingly developed, but he is particularly cunning in guarding himself against danger from the rear, and his senses are at least matched by his shrewdness." (Charles M. Russell: Masterpieces from the Amon Carter Museum, p. 52) Certainly this animal was the most formidable enemy that a frontiersman could have, and perfectly fitting that "no artist painted the grizzly bear, even in death, with more authority than Russell." (Charles M. Russell: Masterpieces from the Amon Carter Museum, p. 52)