| This work reconsiders painter/sculptor Charles M. Russell (1864--1926) through his published writings. In addition to commercial artistic success, Russell achieved notoriety as a storyteller, ultimately publishing four dozen brief pieces.;Russell's stories, as well as his pictures and sculptures, depict the experiences of humans and wildlife in the American West of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, reflecting transitions from frontier life into the 1920s. The stories comprise four themes: Indians, cattle grazing, wildlife, and "modern" times. Russell's stories about Indians tend to be more serious. Conversely, his tales about the open range cattle era, wildlife hunters, and the first two decades of the twentieth century employ ironic humor about the foibles of individual story characters.;Russell wrote for unsophisticated Montana readers in the traditional American style known as "local color" anecdotes. He uses several different narrators who tell stories in rural western dialect. Despite some exaggeration for comic effect, these incidents and characters constitute elements of local history. The immediate purpose of many stories was amusement at the expense of locally-known main characters. For readers in subsequent generations, however, the themes and details of these anecdotes enhance an understanding of people and conditions in the American West. Unlike most of his paintings and sculptures, Russell's stories consider the impact of population growth, urbanization, and technology, as well as the suppression of native peoples and wildlife. The local color style of these narratives also provides an understanding of the minds and values of people living in the rural and small-town communities of the West.;For the historical context of Russell's stories, this work examines Montana newspaper articles. dealing with similar themes and people. In addition, published essays, biographies, and art criticism about Russell supply data and analysis. Many Russell narratives correspond to tall tale traditions of American folklore. Accordingly, this work also compares Russell's writings with others that deal with the same period and cultures in the American West.;This study reveals historical perspectives in Charlie Russell's expressions of local culture. His local color narratives enable unfamiliar readers to appreciate his artistic versatility as well as the cultural vitality in the turn-of-the-century American West. |
