Charles Marion Russell (1864-1926) remains one of the most significant and beloved American artists of the early 20th century for the wit and warmth that shines through his accurate depictions of life in the west. In his lifetime, he completed more than 4,000 paintings and sculptures, many of which have become fundamental cultural icons — capturing essential images of western American life in a down-to-earth manner.  He was a friend to all and ”by the turn of the 21st century, his paintings and sculpture had decorated not only the saloons and brothels of his youth but also the White House and the Diplomatic Reception Rooms at the U.S. Department of State.”[1]
 
Russell’s ten years of experience working as a wrangler formed the basis for his paintings and drawings of the cowboys, American Indians, historical figures, and western fauna. He even learned to talk sign language and lived with the Káínai for a while. His artworks are among the most well-known portrayals of the late 19th and early 20th century western experience. He has long been considered unique in his approach to complex subjects and is widely recognized for authenticity and attention to detail. Above all, Charles M. Russell excelled at engaging the viewer with vibrant, sometimes humorous scenes of western life. Gilcrease Museum is home to a large collection of material created by and about Russell, including 53 Russell paintings and 30 of his sculptures, as well as the Charles M. Russell Research Collection (Britzman), which is an archive of about 12,000 items chronicling the life and work of the famed western artist.

Explore the archive items visually Charles M. Russell Research Collection (Britzman).

Search the framework for a Finding Aid and a sortable .csv file here.  

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[1] Price, B. Byron. “Charles M. Russell- Icon of the West.” In Charles M. Russell: A Catalogue Raisonne. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2007.

Will Rogers & Charlie Russell

It is my belief that Will Rogers admired Charlie Russell more than he did almost any other public figure.  They first met in 1904. “Charlie Russell was trying to sell a few paintings and I was trying to sell a few jokes when I first met him years ago,” he once wrote. “We met in the East. Neither of us had much more than carfare… He went up the ladder of fame a lot faster than I did”...

Legacy of CM Russell

“Nature taught her child to read, to write and spell, and with her books before him he reads his lesson well.” —CMR

In the carefree days before his marriage, Charlie Russell painted for amusement. Creating pictures was his favorite diversion. His friends of those days will testify to his liberality with the products of his brush. If a friend admired one of his paintings, it was presented to him...

Hands Up! - A Rawhide Rawlins Short Story by Charles M. Russell

Jack Shea tells one time about being held up. It was in Colorado, and he’s travelin’ on a coach.  There’s five passengers, and one of them is a middle-aged woman. There’s been a lot of stick-up men on this road, and this old lady is worried...

Writings, Poems, & Illustrated Letters by Charles M. Russell

Writing---inscriptions, poems, letters, or published stories---was not an easy undertaking for Russell. He eventually began to use images to express himself on paper. This he termed “paper talk.” In this mode, rules of grammar, spelling and punctuation did not apply. 

Read About Charlie Russell as an Author and Poet Here

Russell’s Nickel-plated Colt Revolver

Russell was born in St. Louis in 1864. At the age of 16, he boarded a train to Montana with a friend, Wallis L.W. (Pike) Miller, to work at the Miller family’s sheep camp. At the time, lots of young men had headed west to seek their fortunes and to make new lives. Charlie Russell made a name for himself by creating visions of the West in paint or bronze...

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The Russell Archives Compiled by Homer Britzman

The collection was amassed by Russell biographer Homer Britzman (including material kept by Nancy Russell the artist’s widow) over several decades following the artist’s death in 1926. Prior to the acquisition of the Russell Research Collection by The University of Tulsa in 2009, the collection had been housed in Colorado Springs since the early 1970s...

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Thoughts on Charles Russell

Though widely challenged, Russell was without peer in his ability to reconcile his own thoughts and emotions with the viewer, to convey authentic stories of western life with individuals far removed from the late 19th century western American experience. For all time, Russell captured the imagery of a world fast fading into history. Indeed, his works continue to speak across time and space and remain relevant after nearly a century...

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