Charles M. Russell (1864-1926); Blackfeet War Party (circa 1896)

Lot 72

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11944 North Tracey Road
Hayden, ID 83835
United States

Coeur d’Alene Art Auction specializes in the finest classical Western and American Art representing past masters and outstanding contemporary artists. The auction principals have over 100 years of combined experience in selling fine art and have netted their clients over $325 million in the last fif...Read more

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About Auction

Fine Western & American Art by Coeur d'Alene Art Auction

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Fine Western & American Art

By Coeur d'Alene Art Auction

Jul 25, 2020

Set Reminder 2020-07-25 15:00:00 2020-07-25 15:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Fine Western & American Art https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/coeur-dalene/fine-western-american-art-5263 The 2020 Coeur d'Alene Art Auction to be held July 25 in Reno, Nevada, will feature 264 selections of unparalleled quality in Western paintings and sculpture from historical and contemporary artists such as Charles M. Russell, Henry Farny, Thomas Moran, Edward S. Curtis, Carl Rungius, and more. Coeur d'Alene Art Auction info@cdaartauction.com

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Lot Description

Charles M. Russell (1864-1926)
Blackfeet War Party (circa 1896)
watercolor and gouache on paper
15 x 22 inches
signed lower left

Blackfeet War Party is recorded in the C. M. Russell Catalogue Raisonné as reference number CR.UNL.46.

According to Western American art historian Dr. Larry Len Peterson, “Inspired by the watercolors of Winslow Homer and John Singer Sargent, Charles M. Russell tackled the challenging field of watercolor painting seriously for the first time in the 1890s. His education came in the form of observing prints of other artists’ works, illustrations, exhibitions, and reading how-to artist books—the most important being H. W. Herrick’s Water Color Painting: A Description of Materials with Directions for Their Use in Elementary Practice (1882). Russell was fortunate to be working in a time when the American watercolor movement reached its apex in the 1880s and 1890s. Despite being self-taught, he mastered transparent watercolor painting and routinely employed dry brush and washes. He also began experimenting with gouache—a mix of Chinese white with transparent watercolors. His use of gouache would become a mainstay after the turn of the century.

“During this formative period, Russell often employed a pyramidal composition with a white horse at the front-center. Blackfeet War Party is a fine example of Russell, the nostalgic, using his imagination to back trail on the old frontier. The Blackfeet were his favorite subject, and they were proud of that fact. Galloping to the challenge, the robust warriors with the swirl of dust enveloping them, are eager to engage one of their mortal enemies on the Great Plains, perhaps either the Sioux or the Crow.

“It is striking how few Western American artists in Russell’s era worked in watercolor and how accomplished and prolific Russell would become in this media. In fact, one can make a case that Russell’s greatest talent was not oil painting or sculpting, but his mastery of watercolor.”

PROVENANCE
Private Collection 1983
[Sotheby’s, New York, NY 2012]
Private Collection 2012
Private Collection, NM

Condition

As viewed through glass. Paper appears to be in excellent condition. Colors are bright.