Charlie Russell: Tale-Telling Cowboy Artist

by Lois V. Harris, Charles Marion Russell (Illustrations)

Charles Marion Russell was the first artist to live most of his life in the West, sketching and painting not only from live subjects, but from actual experience. Becoming a frontiersman at a young age in 1880, he rode and worked with horses on a daily basis, something that no other Western artist had done before. This biography for children is the first of its kind about Russell, and the subject's own vibrant paintings illustrate his life story. It follows Russell from his school days through adulthood and reveals how he held on to his dreams, living out a child's cowboy fantasy. Charlie Russell not only wanted to experience the West, he wanted to replicate it. It took years of hard work and determination to land a job as a cattleman and longer still for him to master his artistic talents. Through stories, wax figures, and paintings, he was able to capture that rare spirit of the region and pass it along to others. Russell became a famous artist, author, outdoorsman, environmentalist, storyteller, and beloved Western figure. Today, more than 2,000 of his paintings, sculptures, and drawings are held in the C. M. Russell Museum in Great Falls, Montana. This book pays tribute to a great Western artist, encouraging every young cowboy to live out his dreams.

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 15, 2010

Reviews

[Darlene Foster · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful book for parents and children to read together. Times gone past are skillfully depicted in words and pictures. It is important to keep the stories of our past and the people who created it alive for future generations. This is the idea behind Charlie Russell's works of art and also in this delightful book.