Lot Essay
Charles Marion Russell, known as The Cowboy Artist, is renowned for his dramatic portrayals of life on the great frontier of Montana. Russell throughout his career documented the brief but stirring history of the cowboy and the open cattle ranch. After 1890, Russell began to focus with great enthusiasm and reverence on Native Americans he encountered on the High Plains. Horse Thieves from 1901 is one such image that poignantly recalls the ways of life of the Native Americans of the High Plains of Montana.
During the winter of 1888-89, Russell lived among the Blood Indians on their reservation in Alberta, Canada. This experience had a profound impact on the artist and his work. While among the Blood Indians, Russell gained a deep understanding of the community's history and culture, a knowledge that intensified his sympathy and respect for a way of life that was quickly disappearing. Russell's deep respect for the Native Americans of the Plains found direct expression in his art throughout the rest of his career.
Rick Stewart, in his recent publication on Charles Russell discusses Horse Thieves: "Horse Raiding was the most common type of war activity, and some claimed that as many as twenty raids on a single tribe were made within a year. After Indians were confined to reservations, the practice still remained a volatile threat to inter-tribal peace. Russell's painting is again based in the legendary exploits of a historical figure: Whie Quiver, a Pigean warrior who was remembered as the greatest horse raider of his time and was still active when Russell executed this portrayal. The painting doubtless was based on many stories of the warrior's remarkable career.
White Quiver was a young boy when his father, Trail's War Bonnet, was killed by the Crow. Vowing vengeance on that tribe, the son joined war parties while young and developed into a warrior of great physical prowess. It was said that he could ride three days and nights with stolen horses without stopping for food. He was described as tall, very dark, and ugly; he became so well known to the enemy that Crow mothers disciplined their misbehaving children with threats of his stealthy presence. White Quiver's war parties were small ones and as Russell accurately shows, he was always the leader, He developed the unorthodox practice of entering an enemy camp alone, at dusk, just as the people were settling down for the night, then bringing the horses out to the other members of his party. He took horses from other tribes besides the Crow, including the Assinboine, Cree, Gros Ventre, and Sioux.
In Russell's painting, White Quiver leads a large band of stolen horses, under cover of darkness, from a river bottom up to the high country. He wears a wolfskin war bonnet with a single eagle feather. It was said that his 'power' came from a single plume obtained from an Arapaho medicine pipe bundle.
During his last raid, when he was thirty, White Quiver stole more than fifty horses from the Crow. Military authorities from Fort Benton intercepted him and took the horses, but after dark, he re-stole them from the government corrals and moved them quickly to Canada. There the Mounted Police stopped him and again confiscated the horses. Again, White Quiver got part of the heard back and took them to the Blackfeet Reservation in Montana. As in every raid he led, White Quiver distributed the horses to friends and relatives, keeping only a few for himself. Such exploits earned him the accolades of a popular hero, as well as a place in Russell's art." (Charles M. Russell, Fort Worth, Texas, 1992, p. 30).
According to Frederick Renner, "among the ponies was a pinto which White Quiver traded to Bad Wound, who later sold the horse to Charles M. Russell. This was the horse called 'Monte,' which Russell was to ride for nearly twenty-five years." (Charles M. Russell, New York, 1974, p. 159)
Horse Thieves is a powerful image composed of a dramatic sweep of the Montana plains which is bisected by a trail of horses being led by the mounted warrior White Quiver. The visual impact of Horse Thieves is further enhanced the artist's use of color and compositional techniques.
Complimenting Russell's compositional techniques is his ingenious choice of color. Russell, in order to add drama to his scenes would set his figures against a fiery sunset. In Horse Thieves, Russell chooses the subdued yet powerful atmosphere of a moonlit night. The artist cleverly manipulates a muted color scene composed of blues, lavenders, pinks, greens and browns to replicate the veil of luminous moonlight across the vast landscape. Employing brilliant spots of red and crisp areas of white in White Quiver's vestments and horse, Russell creates a striking contrast between the warrior chief and the soft hues of the background and peripheral horses, thus visually accentuating the import of this central figure.
Horse Theives remains one of Russell's greatest achievements. Through his experiences on the open range and a close bond with Native Americans, Russell was able to create a pure visual testament to the sanctity of the Old West that had disappeared. The painting also ingeniously distills the qualities of White Quiver into a single heroic image. Arthur Hoeber commented in 1911 of Russell: "He paints the West that has passed from an intimate personal knowledge of it; for he was there in the midst of it all, and he has the tang of its spirit in his blood. He has recorded something of the earlier days in the life if that country, of its people, of their curious ways and occupations, a life that has practically passed." (as quoted in Peter Hassrick, Charles M. Russell, New York, 1989, p. 101). During Russell's time, the nation lamented the disappearance of the Western frontier, but simultaneously believed the nations' destiny lay in the open plains. Russell, unable to change destiny, immortalized the pure Old West in images such as The Horse Thieves. It was this symbolic import of Russell's paintings that made them extremely successful during his career and today they remain as pictorial icons of a memorable time in the history of the West.
During the winter of 1888-89, Russell lived among the Blood Indians on their reservation in Alberta, Canada. This experience had a profound impact on the artist and his work. While among the Blood Indians, Russell gained a deep understanding of the community's history and culture, a knowledge that intensified his sympathy and respect for a way of life that was quickly disappearing. Russell's deep respect for the Native Americans of the Plains found direct expression in his art throughout the rest of his career.
Rick Stewart, in his recent publication on Charles Russell discusses Horse Thieves: "Horse Raiding was the most common type of war activity, and some claimed that as many as twenty raids on a single tribe were made within a year. After Indians were confined to reservations, the practice still remained a volatile threat to inter-tribal peace. Russell's painting is again based in the legendary exploits of a historical figure: Whie Quiver, a Pigean warrior who was remembered as the greatest horse raider of his time and was still active when Russell executed this portrayal. The painting doubtless was based on many stories of the warrior's remarkable career.
White Quiver was a young boy when his father, Trail's War Bonnet, was killed by the Crow. Vowing vengeance on that tribe, the son joined war parties while young and developed into a warrior of great physical prowess. It was said that he could ride three days and nights with stolen horses without stopping for food. He was described as tall, very dark, and ugly; he became so well known to the enemy that Crow mothers disciplined their misbehaving children with threats of his stealthy presence. White Quiver's war parties were small ones and as Russell accurately shows, he was always the leader, He developed the unorthodox practice of entering an enemy camp alone, at dusk, just as the people were settling down for the night, then bringing the horses out to the other members of his party. He took horses from other tribes besides the Crow, including the Assinboine, Cree, Gros Ventre, and Sioux.
In Russell's painting, White Quiver leads a large band of stolen horses, under cover of darkness, from a river bottom up to the high country. He wears a wolfskin war bonnet with a single eagle feather. It was said that his 'power' came from a single plume obtained from an Arapaho medicine pipe bundle.
During his last raid, when he was thirty, White Quiver stole more than fifty horses from the Crow. Military authorities from Fort Benton intercepted him and took the horses, but after dark, he re-stole them from the government corrals and moved them quickly to Canada. There the Mounted Police stopped him and again confiscated the horses. Again, White Quiver got part of the heard back and took them to the Blackfeet Reservation in Montana. As in every raid he led, White Quiver distributed the horses to friends and relatives, keeping only a few for himself. Such exploits earned him the accolades of a popular hero, as well as a place in Russell's art." (Charles M. Russell, Fort Worth, Texas, 1992, p. 30).
According to Frederick Renner, "among the ponies was a pinto which White Quiver traded to Bad Wound, who later sold the horse to Charles M. Russell. This was the horse called 'Monte,' which Russell was to ride for nearly twenty-five years." (Charles M. Russell, New York, 1974, p. 159)
Horse Thieves is a powerful image composed of a dramatic sweep of the Montana plains which is bisected by a trail of horses being led by the mounted warrior White Quiver. The visual impact of Horse Thieves is further enhanced the artist's use of color and compositional techniques.
Complimenting Russell's compositional techniques is his ingenious choice of color. Russell, in order to add drama to his scenes would set his figures against a fiery sunset. In Horse Thieves, Russell chooses the subdued yet powerful atmosphere of a moonlit night. The artist cleverly manipulates a muted color scene composed of blues, lavenders, pinks, greens and browns to replicate the veil of luminous moonlight across the vast landscape. Employing brilliant spots of red and crisp areas of white in White Quiver's vestments and horse, Russell creates a striking contrast between the warrior chief and the soft hues of the background and peripheral horses, thus visually accentuating the import of this central figure.
Horse Theives remains one of Russell's greatest achievements. Through his experiences on the open range and a close bond with Native Americans, Russell was able to create a pure visual testament to the sanctity of the Old West that had disappeared. The painting also ingeniously distills the qualities of White Quiver into a single heroic image. Arthur Hoeber commented in 1911 of Russell: "He paints the West that has passed from an intimate personal knowledge of it; for he was there in the midst of it all, and he has the tang of its spirit in his blood. He has recorded something of the earlier days in the life if that country, of its people, of their curious ways and occupations, a life that has practically passed." (as quoted in Peter Hassrick, Charles M. Russell, New York, 1989, p. 101). During Russell's time, the nation lamented the disappearance of the Western frontier, but simultaneously believed the nations' destiny lay in the open plains. Russell, unable to change destiny, immortalized the pure Old West in images such as The Horse Thieves. It was this symbolic import of Russell's paintings that made them extremely successful during his career and today they remain as pictorial icons of a memorable time in the history of the West.