Lot 26
Charles Marion Russell(1864-1926)Watcher of the Plains 11 3/4in high
Amended
19 November 2018, 16:00 EST
New YorkUS$70,000 - US$100,000
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Charles Marion Russell (1864-1926)
Watcher of the Plains
inscribed with skull insignia 'CMRussell 1901 / ©' (on the base) and 'Calif. Art. Bronze. Fnry. L.A.' (along the base)
bronze with dark brown patina
11 3/4in high
Modeled in 1901; cast circa 1926-34.
inscribed with skull insignia 'CMRussell 1901 / ©' (on the base) and 'Calif. Art. Bronze. Fnry. L.A.' (along the base)
bronze with dark brown patina
11 3/4in high
Modeled in 1901; cast circa 1926-34.
Footnotes
Provenance
Private collection, Switzerland.
Trade, Geneva, Switzerland.
Acquired by the present owner from the above, circa 2015.
Literature
R. Stewart, Charles M. Russell: Sculptor, Fort Worth, Texas, 1994, pp. 336-40, no. R-41, other examples illustrated.
Nancy Russell, the artist's wife, once described the present work and its subject, a Piegan scout of the Blackfoot raiding party: "You can tell the wind is blowing softly. He has a sawed-off flintlock gun or fewk. In his belt is his medicine bag. The buffalo robe that he wore has slipped from his body and he is seated on it. From his wrists hangs an elk horn quirt. He is wearing a wolf skin cap." (R. Stewart, Charles M. Russell: Sculptor, Fort Worth, Texas, 1994, p. 337) When Russell first created the painted plaster of Watcher of the Plains in 1901, he produced several other variations of the subject, altering the details of each, to share with friends and family. Though modeled years earlier, the work was eventually cast in bronze much later in the artist's lifetime.
According to Rick Stewart, Charles Russell scholar, it is believed there are no posthumous casts for Watcher of the Plains and among the recorded lifetime casts, approximately 14 exist. (ibid, p. 337) Produced both by Roman Bronze Works, New York, and California Art Bronze Foundry, Los Angeles, during the artist's life time, casts from both foundries exist in institutional collections including the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, Cody, Wyoming and the Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas.
Saleroom notices
Please note updated cataloguing for this lot: The present work was modeled in 1901 and cast circa 1926-34.