Charles M. Russell (1864-1926) was a working cowboy from Montana and a prolific “western” artist. He expressed his affinity with First Nations people in many of his illustrated letters, his paintings and, as he appears here, by sometimes dressing as a warrior. According to a January 1986 National Geographic article, the so called ‘Blood Indians of the Blackfoot confederacy’ named him Ah-wah-cous (antelope) as a token of kinship. Oil on canvas painting, first of the group. Completed in 1990.
This painting is from a series titled Eight Portraits exhibited in Thunder Bay, Ontario (1994) and Sydney, Australia (1995). Whether demonstrating solidarity or seeking alternative paradigms, all my subjects were influenced by indigenous cultures to varying degrees. From adorning costume to complete immersion into their adopted community. My goal with this project was not to achieve a “likeness” as a classic portrait painter might strive for. Instead, using the vocabulary of Photorealism, it was to reproduce at life size the analogue print media (books, newspapers, magazines, etc.) that brought these people and the spectrum of their motivations, to my attention.
Find the other portraits in this series in the Culture genre.
