Charles Marion Russell (1864–1926)
400 13th Street North, Great Falls, MT 59401
406-727-8787
![43_HAHS_ch43_Russell_001Alternate[1B]](https://i0.wp.com/artistshomes.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/43_HAHS_ch43_Russell_001Alternate1B.jpg?fit=1024%2C819&ssl=1)
![43_HAHS_ch43_Russell_005[5B]](https://i0.wp.com/artistshomes.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/43_HAHS_ch43_Russell_0055B.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1)
![43_HAHS_ch43_Russell_002[2AB]](https://i0.wp.com/artistshomes.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/43_HAHS_ch43_Russell_0022AB.jpg?fit=1024%2C754&ssl=1)
![43_HAHS_ch43_Russell_003[3AB]](https://i0.wp.com/artistshomes.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/43_HAHS_ch43_Russell_0033AB.jpg?fit=1024%2C662&ssl=1)
![43_HAHS_ch43_Russell_004SecondAlternate[4A]](https://i0.wp.com/artistshomes.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/43_HAHS_ch43_Russell_004SecondAlternate4A.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1)
![43_HAHS_ch43_Russell_004Alternate[4A]](https://i0.wp.com/artistshomes.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/43_HAHS_ch43_Russell_004Alternate4A.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1)
ABOUT
The award-winning C.M. Russell Museum contains more than 3,000 pieces of Western art in a complex that covers an entire city block and encompasses 16 exhibition galleries, educational programming spaces, a dedicated research center, an impressive outdoor sculpture garden, and includes Charlie’s fully-restored home and studio, a National Historic Landmark, where he lived and created for 24 years alongside wife and business partner Nancy Cooper Russell. With nearly 1,000 Charles M. Russell creations in our collection, the museum presents Russell’s comprehensive, very personal, and authentic reflection on Western history. Also showcased are Russell contemporaries who have captured the traditions of North Plains Indian life, Montana wildlife and landscapes, and cowboy culture. You will discover important work by O.C. Seltzer, Winold Reiss, Joseph H. Sharp, E. E. Heikka, Maynard Dixon, E. I. Couse, Olaf Wieghorst, Henry Farny, Frank Tenney Johnson, and more.
SPECIAL RESOURCES
“Nature has been my teacher; I’ll leave it to you whether she has been a good one.”
— Charles Marion Russell
C. M. Russell (1864–1926)
Charles Marion Russell masterfully captured the art and soul of the American West through 4,000+ recorded works featuring oil paintings, watercolor, sculpture, and writing. Russell achieved this by establishing an inspired visual record celebrating Indigenous culture, Western narratives, grand landscapes, and majestic wildlife scenes. While his art is considered historic, his spirit is timeless.
Though Charlie was an internationally acclaimed “original cowboy artist,” he humbly valued friendship more than fame. His infectious humor, gifted storytelling, advocacy, and illustrated “paper talk” letters continue to elevate a treasured legacy. Charlie inspired loyalty from a diverse inner circle that included family, Great Falls neighbors, contemporary artists, Northern Plain tribal members, and fellow luminaries such as John Ford and Will Rogers.
LEARN MORE
Charles Marion Russell (1864–1926) was many things: consummate Westerner, historian, advocate of the Northern Plains Indians, cowboy, writer, outdoorsman, philosopher, environmentalist, conservationist, and not least, artist.
Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Russell dreamed of living the exciting life of men on the range. In 1880, Russell came to Montana after his 16th birthday to try his hand as a cowpuncher. After a brief, unsuccessful stint on a sheep ranch, Jake Hoover, a hunter and trader, took him under his wing; for two years, Russell was Hoover’s apprentice, working with and living in Hoover’s cabin on the South Fork of the Judith River.
In 1882, Russell secured a job as a night herder with several cattle outfits operating in the Judith Basin. This was the perfect job, giving him the opportunity during the day to observe, sketch, and document the activities and excitement of the cow camps. He worked as a cowboy and wrangler for 11 years before retiring in 1893 to become a full-time artist.
Russell’s admiration for the Northern Plains Indians was profound. He spent a summer in 1888 in Alberta, Canada, closely observing their ways. This experience left a lasting impact on him, shaping his artistic vision and inspiring many of his detailed works depicting Plains Indian life.
In 1896, Russell married Nancy Cooper, and she quickly assumed the role of Russell’s business manager. In 1900, the couple built a modest two-story Victorian frame house in Great Falls and, three years later, a log studio. Russell completed the majority of his significant works in the studio. By the early 1900s, Charlie Russell had become an internationally known artist. In 1916, Charlie and Nancy adopted their son, Jack. Russell died of a heart attack in his Great Falls home on October 24, 1926.
Russell created approximately 4,000 works of art during his lifetime. His love of Montana and the life he observed and participated in there shaped his art and his personal philosophy for 46 years. His art is, first and foremost, that of a storyteller, and it was informed by his remarkable ability to capture in paint, bronze, ink, and wax the personalities and events of his time and place. He was among the first Western artists to live most of his life in the West. For this reason, Charlie knew his subject matter intimately, setting the standard for many Western artists to follow.
