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Indian Women Crossing Stream 1894

Currency:USD Category:Art Start Price:NA Estimated At:150,000.00 - 250,000.00 USD
Indian Women Crossing Stream 1894
Indian Women Crossing Stream 1894
Artist: Russell, CharlesDate of Birth: 1864-1926
Medium: Watercolor
Dimensions: 21 x 33 1/4 inches
Signed: Signed lower left and dated 94
Verso:

In Indian Women Crossing A Stream, Russell—as he often did—pays tribute to Native American women, who did much of the heavy lifting of moving and setting up camps, of child rearing, of cooking, sewing, cleaning. He also notes, in a subtle way, the parallels between human and animal behavior, pairing the woman bearing her child with the foal running alongside the mare she rides. Even the dog, who looks more like a wolf than a dog, does his part on moving day, dragging a pack and pail on a travois. The young brave who leads them bears his bow; soon he may travel with the men. In the 1981 catalogue listed above, Ginger Renner wrote of this and a second work, “A short vacation trip to London resulted in the acquisition of these companion watercolors. Quite likely they were purchased from the artist by one of the many Englishmen who came into Southern Alberta and Northern Montana toward the end of the 19th century, lured by the prospect of ranching investments. The watercolors had been in England eighty years when found, rather by accident, in Sotheby’s auction house in Belgravia. These two watercolors are among the largest ever painted by Russell.”