Guide to Collecting Western Art InGreatFalls
MONTANARussell’s deep empathy for the fate of the Native
American. “[Russell] was a brilliant action
painter, but reserved a special place in his heart
for quiet contemplation,” writes Russell scholar
Brian W. Dippie about the piece. “Indians
scanning the distance from a promontory were
stand-ins for his overview of a dreamland that
he made his own, and all the world’s.” The
museum notes that at least four previous Russell
paintings offer clues to this eventual work,
which itself foreshadowed similar themes that
would come up in paintings between 1910 and- Approach of White Men is estimated to
sell for $1.25 million to $1.75 million.
Russell’s Indian with Bow, an oil from
around 1900, comes to the auction with one of
the more interesting provenances. It was likely
traded by Russell to a tavern owner for food. It
was later purchased for $15 in Montana, after
which it descended through a family. In 2015
the work turned up on Arizona Collectibles, an
Antiques Roadshow-like appraisal program,
during which Manitou Galleries owner Bob
Nelson immediately recognized Russell’s
brushstrokes and signature and valued it at
more than $750,000, to the astonishment of
the painting’s current owners. The following
year the work was sold at The Russell for
$800,000. The work is back at the auction this
Jennifer Johnson, Iconic Big Sky Country (triptych), oil, 36 x 72" Estimate: $16/25,000
John Fery (1859-1934), Avalanche Lake, oil, 22 x 27" Estimate: $17,5/20,000