One of the two greatest artists depicting the American West, the other being Frederic Remington, died at age 62 in Great Falls, Montana.
Originally from Missouri, he had relocated to Montana at age 16 and worked as a sheepherder and cowboy before becoming a fulltime artist. He married Nancy Cooper in 1896 and she became his business manager. She lived until 1940, dying at age 72. The couple had one adopted son, Jack Cooper Russell.
In my view, while Russell's paintings are less dramatic, they are more authentic than Remington's, although I like them both. Many of Russell's paintings were commissioned by regional ranches in the American and Canadian Rocky Mountain West, and you can sometimes figure out who commissioned them by the brand that appears on the livestock.
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