Happy Birthday, Mr. Gibson

By Brad Reynolds Paris Gibson was not “creative” in the artistic sense, but none could say that he was without imagination. In 1881, at the Great Falls of the Missouri, he wrote, “This scenery, [...]

Highway 87: The Charles M. Russell Trail

The Montana Legislature designated Highway 87 between Great Falls and Lewistown as the “Charles M. Russell Trail.” The land continues to stir the imagination and spirit today as it did for a [...]

A Tale of Two Charlies

At the same time Charles M. Russell was painting the West, Charles E. Morris was capturing it with photographs. Orphaned around fifteen, Morris went north to Wyoming and worked as a cowboy. He [...]

C.M. Russell Timeline

The Wolfmen – 1925 1864 Charlie Russell is born the same year Montana becomes a territory. 1880 Russell arrives in Montana for the first time around age 16. 1888 Russell spends time with [...]

Charlie Russell (1864-1926)

“Laugh Kills Lonesome.” Oil on Canvas, 1925. C.M. Russell,, Montana Historical Society MacKay Collection, Helena, MT In 1864, Russell was born in Missouri, far from the Wild West. He came [...]

Western History through Art

Mandan Bull Boats and Lodges Courtesy of South Dakota State Historical Society The expansion of the West was inevitable. The abundance of art portraying the West merely sped up the timetable. [...]