Auction Preview | The Russell - Southwest Art Magazine

Great Falls, MT
Various locations, March 19-21
**Update: The Russell event has been postponed due to the coronavirus situation. Click here for more information.

Thomas Moran, Green River in Wyoming, oil, 10 x 14.

This story was featured in the March/April 2020 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art March/April 2020 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.

“THE RUSSELL,” says its official description, “is much more than a western art exhibition and sale; it is a three-day western art experience.” Though that claim may seem grand, the event’s schedule more than delivers on the promise. And that doesn’t even touch on the fact that all 211 artworks in the exhibition and sale—some by top artists of today, others by masters of the past—have already been on public view for a full month, a distinction that “sets us apart from the other western art events,” says Duane Braaten, the C.M. Russell Museum’s director of art and philanthropy.

: John R. Phelps, Little Big Man—Lakota, oil, 40 x 30.

: Charles M. Russell, Woman Petting an Unsaddled Horse, pen/ink, 8 x 9.

: Carol Hagan, Rootbeer, oil, 18 x 36.

The first day begins at 10 a.m. with the opening of the Russell Skull Society of Artists Suites in the Mansfield Convention Center. Works from this group of 23 elite artists, selected both for their accomplishments and their support of the museum, will be sold “off the wall,” separate from the auctions that take place during the weekend. Ticketed activities begin that evening with an Art Preview Party at the museum, as guests mingle with artists and take a good look at the auction pieces. “It’s a great opportunity to meet the artists and hear about their art firsthand,” says Braaten.

Friday kicks off at 10 a.m. with Art in Action. The Russell’s version of a Quick Draw, it lets guests interact with leading artists as they finish paintings or sculptures that are then sold in a live auction. Another competitive sale comes that evening, starting at 6 p.m. in the convention center: the lively, casual First Strike Auction, featuring 76 works by contemporary artists including Michele Usibelli, Jeremy Winborg, Michael Blessing, Tom Dean, and Steven Lang.

: W. Steve Seltzer, Autumn Travels, oil, 30 x 30.

: Nancy Dunlop Cawdrey, Bathing Buddies, dye/silk, 28 x 33.

: Todd Connor, Moving Through Beaver Country, oil, 30 x 40.

Saturday begins with The Russell’s annual educational symposium—this year, a panel discussion with Montana poets—at 9 a.m. at the convention center. At the Meadow Lark Country Club from noon to 2 p.m., guests can enjoy The Russell Runway Show, a high-energy showcase for fashion and jewelry by western designers.

The grand finale comes Saturday night with The Russell Live Auction, an elegant ticketed gathering that features cocktails and dinner. Included among the 135 consigned lots are works by top contemporary artists such as Ben Pease, a first-timer in the event with his moody oil portrait APSAALOOKE PIPE CARRIER (estimated at $9,000-$15,000), Russell Skull Society member Nancy Dunlop Cawdrey with her vivid dye-on-silk painting of two bears entitled BATHING BUDDIES ($8,500-$10,000), and Daniel Parker with the limited-edition bronze SITTING BULL ($17,000-$25,000). Among the many highly anticipated works by artists of the past are Thomas Moran’s 1899 landscape GREEN RIVER IN WYOMING ($750,000-$950,000) and a generous representation of oils, bronzes, and sketches by Russell, including the appealing pen-and-ink drawing WOMAN PETTING AN UNSADDLED HORSE ($15,000-$20,000).

: Luke Frazier, Moment of Truth, oil, 36 x 48.

: Don Oelze, Songs of Honor and Bravery, oil, 38 x 48.

: Charles M. Russell, Following the Buffalo Run, oil, 23 x 35.

Such offerings underscore a key reason The Russell endures as such a draw for lovers of western art. “It’s really a homecoming for folks who simply love Charlie Russell and the art of the West,” Braaten concludes. “Right here, on the original block where Russell’s home and his log-cabin studio stand, you can make a connection to the man himself and to the artists of today who are following in his traditions.” —Norman Kolpas

contact information
406.727.1939
www.cmrussell.org