Charles M. Russell "Indian Stalking Elk," 1897 — Numbered Edition, Museum of Native American Cultures

Two hunters hold position on a rocky ridge, rifles at the ready, their horses tied off to the left and a small herd of elk grazing unaware in the distance to the right. Charles M. Russell painted this watercolor in 1897 — the same decade he was living among the Blackfeet and producing the most ethnographically attentive work of his career. Every detail reads true: the beaded chest piece on the kneeling figure, the blanket spread beneath him on the stone, the way the second hunter keeps low and still. Russell's draftsmanship in watercolor had a looseness that his oils rarely matched — the rocky foreground dissolves into washes of lavender and warm grey, while the figures and horses are rendered with the precision of a man who had actually watched these moments unfold.

The plate carries Russell's facsimile signature with his characteristic buffalo skull cipher and the date 1897. This impression is numbered 65/1000 in pencil in the lower left margin, with the title "Indian Stalking Elk" inscribed in pencil at center and "Museum of Native American Cultures" inscribed in pencil at lower right — identifying the issuing institution associated with this edition. The print is professionally framed in a dark wood moulding with gilt liner and presented behind triple matting and glass.

History

Charles Marion Russell (1864–1926) arrived in Montana Territory at seventeen and never really left — not in spirit. He worked as a night wrangler, lived with the Blood Blackfeet for a winter, and spent the rest of his life painting what he had seen and what he feared was already disappearing. By 1897, when he made this watercolor, Russell had developed the fluid, observational shorthand that would define his mature work: atmosphere rendered in pale washes, figures built with confident line, animals placed with the eye of someone who had spent years reading them in the field. Today his originals reside in the Amon Carter Museum of American Art, the Gilcrease Museum, the Montana Historical Society, and the C.M. Russell Museum in Great Falls — the institution built around his home and studio.

Provenance

Issued by or in association with the Museum of Native American Cultures, as inscribed in pencil in the lower right margin. The original 1897 watercolor's current institutional holding has not been confirmed for this listing.

CONDITION

Very Good overall with no remarkable damage noted. The print presents cleanly within its triple mat, and the frame and glazing are intact.

DIMENSIONS / SPECIFICATIONS

• Overall (framed): 31.25" H × 40.75" W × 1.5" D
• Visible image area: 20.75" H × 30.25" W
• Edition: 65/1000
• Plate date: 1897
• Issuing institution: Museum of Native American Cultures (inscribed in pencil, lower right margin)
• Framing: Dark wood moulding with gilt liner, triple mat, glazed