Charlie Russell show at the Denver Art Museum

I went to see the "Masterworks of Charles M Russell: a retrospective of paintings and Sculpture" currently on exhibit at the Denver Art Museum.  This fabulous show includes Russell's early work as well as his mature iconic style, so it gives art students a chance to see his progress and to meditate on what makes the later work better.

One can't help being impressed by the sheer drawing skill Russell had.  He drew constantly, and apparently much of it was from his imagination.  There are charming letters with tiny ink and watercolor sketches on them - in these days of e-mail, it makes me long to write some letters and draw on them.  I challenge all of you (my dear students) to think of someone deserving some attention from you... write them an illustrated letter ala Russell.  I will do it too.  Here is an exmple:

  

Back to the show ...
Russell painted the same subject matter over and over - the high plains landscape peopled with Animals, Cowboys, Trappers, and most commonly, Native Americans.  His work is narrative, each painting containing a lot of detail to tell a story.  He often told these stories with a humorous bend, making fun especially of  "poser" sportsmen.

I think that sticking to a theme and subject matter that you know and care deeply about is the key to ultimately settling into a consistent style and solving all the problems associated with it.  Looking at all these beautiful paintings together as a body of work shows this phenomenon to be true. Russell used the same color harmony over and over, with yellows, pinks and blues in the sky echoed throughout the lit areas of the composition, touches of turquoise, orange and fire engine red to jazz up the detailed areas, lovely muted dove and grey-green foregrounds.

He could paint dusty boots and hot dusty trails better than anyone I have ever seen.  He could also paint palpable, painful cold as well.  He could paint cattle, horses, and bison as individuals as well as a teeming, writhing mass of panic.  He painted these scenes so many times, he probably had a huge collection of sketches and studies at his disposal so that he could insert various elements at will.

As a horsewoman,  I was enchanted by his ability to draw horses in motion and from every possible position and vantage point.  I wonder if he sculpted little horses in wax in order to accomplish this feat.  He really understood horses and gave them expressions that often told the whole story.  It is sad to see so many horses abused by harsh riders and violent situations, but that was a very different world in which horses were used, not coddled.  (As I run to the barn to give my horses a reassuring pat and an apple...)

So, dear ones, this show is a must see.  Don't make the mistake of dismissing Russell as "just a cowboy artist."  Charlie Russell was a master, and out here in Denver it is not always easy to see shows of this caliber.

Assignments:
1.  Go see this show (before Jan 10)
2.  Write someone an illustrated letter.