Podcast appearances and mentions of Charles M Russell

[Western Art] Here's your rundown on the April 2025 issue of Western Art Collector. Co-publisher Adolfo Castillo chats with executive editor Michael Clawson about all the events happening in April. Features in the issue include a fascinating story about the time a Charles M. Russell painting crossed paths with President John F. Kennedy the day before one of America's darkest moments. Other Texas-themed features include a look into the long friendship between singer Red Steagall and the Cowboy Artists of America, and we also take you into a lovely Texas art collection. Finally, we also talk about the Scottsdale Art Auction, which is featured on the April 2025 cover. This episode is sponsored by Western Art Collector. Learn about shows like this every month by visiting westernartcollector.com.

THE RUSSELL AUCTION • March 20-22, 2025 • Featuring over 125 historic pieces, including more than 20 iconic works by Charles M. Russell. Visit cmrussell.org to learn more.I had Duane Braaten on today and he's a very interesting guy. It just goes to show that when you grow up in an art community like Great Falls, MT  it can affect you and it certainly affected Duane. I think in a way it may have affected him more than he even realizes.You see, Duane goes to pharmacy school, but he discovers his love for the creative world, art, and art museums. What happens is he works as a security guard at the school art gallery. This alters his trajectory a great deal, and he winds up at the Charlie Russell Museum as a preparator, eventually becoming the  Director of Art and Philanthropy and he's been there since 1996.The big event we talk about in this podcast is the auction that the C.M. Russell Museum puts on annually called "The Russell." It's the main fundraiser for the C.M. Russell Museum, which is typically the third week in March.If you haven't gone to that event, believe me when I say that it's a fantastic experience. It's really worth doing. You have all of this interesting art that you can purchase and see, both contemporary and historic. I think 25 Charles Russell works will be for sale, that again, all help the museum, which is an important institution.So very interesting to talk to Duane about his life, about his career at the C.M. Russell Museum, and the annual auction that is happening March 20, 21, and 22 happening in Great Falls, Montana and online at the link below:https://www.liveauctioneers.com/auctioneer/1115/the-russell-a-western-art-experience/

[Western Art] You've seen them on the news, in the history books and certainly in your favorite movies and TV shows—joining us on the podcast today is the FBI. Sitting down for a lengthy chat about art is Special Agent Christopher Dudley with the FBI's Art Crime. We talk about the role the FBI plays in art-related cases, including theft and fraud, and also about several recent cases that the FBI has had a hand in, including the recent theft of letters related to Charles M. Russell. This is one you won't want to miss. The episode is sponsored by Western Art Collector. Read more about Charlie Russell and other Western artists at westernartcollector.com.

Jessica Nebel and Chris Warden from the C.M. Russell Museum are here to give Rebecca and Shannon the inside scoop on the historic Russell Auction during this year's Western Art Week! Celebrating 57 years, the auction will feature over 125 remarkable pieces, including 20+ iconic works by the legendary Charles M. Russell. Great Falls transforms into the Western Art Capital of the World every March. The longstanding event centers around the birthday of famed cowboy artist Charlie Russell's birthday. Western Art Week is March 19-23, 2025. Western Art Week: https://visitgreatfallsmontana.org/western-art-week/ C.M. Russell Museum: https://cmrussell.org/experience/2025-the-russell/

Easterners wanted stories and pictures of the old west, but cameras were heavy and difficult to use. William Jackson took thousands of pictures, most important, of Yellowstone. Soloman Butcher took pictures of the pioneers. Albert Bierstadt's paintings were in museums. Frederic Remington and Charles M. Russell became the most famous painters and sculptors of the west, because of detail and they focused on the people and their way of life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

[Western Art] Returning to the podcast is co-publisher Wendie Martin, who speaks with executive editor Michael Clawson about the November 2024 issue of Western Art Collector. This month's issue includes a wide variety of features, including an in-depth look at a major watercolor by Charles M. Russell, a preview of Kim Wiggins' newest solo show and a peek into the new Maynard Dixon Museum in Tucson, Arizona. In addition to all of the great gallery coverage, the issue also includes the popular Western Small Works & Miniatures special section. Today's episode is sponsored by Western Art Collector. Learn more about the magazine at westernartcollector.com.

Tom Petrie is our very special guest on today's show. The prominent energy investor is on the boards of the C.M. Russell Museum and the Denver Art Museum, home to the Petrie Institute of Western American Art. Tom is also one of the top collectors of the works of Charles M. Russell. He joins the show to talk about Russell, Western art and ways to support museums. This episode is brought to you by Western Art Collector magazine.

Author, art insider and C.M. Russell Museum board member Larry Len Peterson joins us on the podcast to discuss the Coeur d'Alene Art Auction, the annual live auction at the C.M. Russell Museum and other art-related projects he's working on. Larry has written major books on Charles M. Russell, Philip R. Goodwin and Western art, and he's also contributed to Western Art Collector magazine. The episode is sponsored by The Russell Reignited at the C.M. Russell Museum in Great Falls, Montana. 

On this episode of the First Look we sit down with Western Art Collector executive editor Michael Clawson about the August issue of the magazine! Michael dives into all things C.M Russell coming up in August! Modest Yet Masterful: Small Scale Masterworks by Charles M. Russell, Winold Reiss, James Reynolds at Claggett/Rey Gallery, the state of the art in Montana, upcoming previews and so much more!

Joining us on the show today are Christina Horton and Duane Braaten from the C.M. Russell Museum in Great Falls, Montana. The museum is devoted to the iconic cowboy artist Charles M. Russell, who has been a subject on numerous episodes. Christina and Duane chat about March events that will coincide with Charlie Russell's birthday, as well as events in August, including The Russell, the museum's big event that ends with a massive art sale.   This episode is sponsored by the C.M. Russell Museum in Great Falls.  

Part two with horseman, rawhide braider, and reciter Randy Rieman discussing the life and letters of Charles M. Russell. In this episode, Randy talks about Russell's poetry and reads from letters that touch on Christmas, Buffalo Bill, Hollywood, prohibition, the changing West, and Russell's relationship with pioneer preacher Brother Van.   Find out more about Randy Rieman at www.randyrieman.com   This episode was sponsored by Flint Custom Hats. Find out more about Flint Custom Hats at www.flinthat.com   Become a patron at www.patreon.com/cowboycrossroads

Horseman, braider, and reciter Randy Rieman returns to Cowboy Crossroads to discuss the Illustrated Letters of Charles M. Russell. In part one, Randy talks about Russell's life and work, discusses early Montana history, and reads from a few of Russell's letters.    Find out more about Randy Rieman at www.randyrieman.com   This episode was sponsored by Jayson Jones Bits & Spurs. Find out more about Jayson Jones at www.jaysonjonesspurs.com   Become a patron at www.patreon.com/cowboycrossroads

Western Art Collector executive editor Michael Clawson talks with us about the August issue of the magazine. He delves into the story of Western art icon Charles M. Russell, pulp artist Norman Saunders and the Hold Your Horses show in Prescott, Arizona.

CHEYENNE, WY: THE GREAT AMERICA OF 1867-1887 The time when Cheyenne was “great” was the years between 1867 and 1887, the years of the cattle boom in Wyoming. Though much has happened since then, Cheyenne continues to celebrate this era and Wyoming's branding as “The Cowboy State” remains central to Wyoming's identity as a state. It is important to understand that the American cowboy, and the cattle industry as we know it, has its origins in Mexican-American traditions in the states along the southern border, but the image of the cowboy in popular culture owes much to the works of author Owen Wister, who is credited with creating the western as a literary genre. Though he set his writings in various places around the west, his two most famous and endearing novels, Lin McLean (1897) and The Virginian: A Horseman of the Plains (1902) took place in, and were based on first-person accounts of, Wyoming during the cattle boom. Together with his illustrators, Charles M. Russell and Frederic Remington, two other great American mythmakers, Wister had helped secure a special place for the Wyoming cowboy in the popular imagination. The origins of the Wyoming cowboy, the beginnings of the cattle boom and the genesis of the city of Cheyenne all happened at the same time. In 1867, the Union Pacific railroad laid track across what would become Wyoming Territory and established a railroad depot at Cheyenne. Within two years, the so-called “Magic City of the Plains” was home to 200 businesses, had a population of 4000 people and was the capitol of the new territory. This growth was powered by the rapid development of the cattle industry. Though there was some ranching in the area since the 1850s, it suffered from lack of access to markets. The railroad not only addressed this problem, it also brought investors from the Eastern States and Britain. This ushered in the era of huge, heavily capitalized cattle operations. It seemed, for a time, that no one could lose money in the cattle business. Cattlemen dominated politics. In 1879, the Cheyenne Club was established in an ostentatious building which nearly dwarfed the territorial capitol. This became the premier gathering place for the biggest players in the cattle industry, and functioned as some ways as a “third house” of the territorial legislature where deals would be made over liquor, cigars and oysters. While this arrangement worked very well for a small number of cattlemen backed by Eastern and foreign financiers, it excluded many Wyoming residents. In their quest to monopolize land and water resources, the heavily capitalized large cattle operations were engaged in conflicts, sometimes violent, around the territory with sheepherders, farmers, and small-time ranchers. Another excluded group seems a little ironic. Though the city was named Cheyenne, the tribe would not be a part of the life of the community. In the 1870s United States was actively at war with the Cheyenne and other plains tribes and the army was initially the primary market for beef. Beyond this, a lot of people got written out of the mythmaking of the period. Though a significant number of cowboys were African-American or Native American, and Mexican-Americans worked the initial cattle drives to Wyoming from Texas, these were not the men elevated by Wister. The author considered the Anglo-American cowboy to be a paragon of the nation's values and dismissed others with words like “mongrel.” His heroes were White, Anglo-Saxon and Protestant, and this shaped the popular notion of the cowboy in Wyoming and beyond. The cattle boom came to an abrupt end in 1887. The number of cattle both exceeded market demand and the capacity of the range to support them. The final blow was a particularly severe winter in 1887. The Cheyenne Club was soon abandoned. Though the industry survived, it was no longer dominant in the same way. -Tom Prezelski, Resident Historian

CHEYENNE, WY: THE GREAT AMERICA OF 1867-1887 The time when Cheyenne was “great” was the years between 1867 and 1887, the years of the cattle boom in Wyoming. Though much has happened since then, Cheyenne continues to celebrate this era and Wyoming's branding as “The Cowboy State” remains central to Wyoming's identity as a state. It is important to understand that the American cowboy, and the cattle industry as we know it, has its origins in Mexican-American traditions in the states along the southern border, but the image of the cowboy in popular culture owes much to the works of author Owen Wister, who is credited with creating the western as a literary genre. Though he set his writings in various places around the west, his two most famous and endearing novels, Lin McLean (1897) and The Virginian: A Horseman of the Plains (1902) took place in, and were based on first-person accounts of, Wyoming during the cattle boom. Together with his illustrators, Charles M. Russell and Frederic Remington, two other great American mythmakers, Wister had helped secure a special place for the Wyoming cowboy in the popular imagination. The origins of the Wyoming cowboy, the beginnings of the cattle boom and the genesis of the city of Cheyenne all happened at the same time. In 1867, the Union Pacific railroad laid track across what would become Wyoming Territory and established a railroad depot at Cheyenne. Within two years, the so-called “Magic City of the Plains” was home to 200 businesses, had a population of 4000 people and was the capitol of the new territory. This growth was powered by the rapid development of the cattle industry. Though there was some ranching in the area since the 1850s, it suffered from lack of access to markets. The railroad not only addressed this problem, it also brought investors from the Eastern States and Britain. This ushered in the era of huge, heavily capitalized cattle operations. It seemed, for a time, that no one could lose money in the cattle business. Cattlemen dominated politics. In 1879, the Cheyenne Club was established in an ostentatious building which nearly dwarfed the territorial capitol. This became the premier gathering place for the biggest players in the cattle industry, and functioned as some ways as a “third house” of the territorial legislature where deals would be made over liquor, cigars and oysters. While this arrangement worked very well for a small number of cattlemen backed by Eastern and foreign financiers, it excluded many Wyoming residents. In their quest to monopolize land and water resources, the heavily capitalized large cattle operations were engaged in conflicts, sometimes violent, around the territory with sheepherders, farmers, and small-time ranchers. Another excluded group seems a little ironic. Though the city was named Cheyenne, the tribe would not be a part of the life of the community. In the 1870s United States was actively at war with the Cheyenne and other plains tribes and the army was initially the primary market for beef. Beyond this, a lot of people got written out of the mythmaking of the period. Though a significant number of cowboys were African-American or Native American, and Mexican-Americans worked the initial cattle drives to Wyoming from Texas, these were not the men elevated by Wister. The author considered the Anglo-American cowboy to be a paragon of the nation's values and dismissed others with words like “mongrel.” His heroes were White, Anglo-Saxon and Protestant, and this shaped the popular notion of the cowboy in Wyoming and beyond. The cattle boom came to an abrupt end in 1887. The number of cattle both exceeded market demand and the capacity of the range to support them. The final blow was a particularly severe winter in 1887. The Cheyenne Club was soon abandoned. Though the industry survived, it was no longer dominant in the same way. -Tom Prezelski, Resident Historian

Every beginning starts with an ending. This is one of the principles of Pendulum theory. And the middle is always in the middle. When our fight with King George ended in 1783, thirteen powerless colonies became “The United States.” This was the beginning of the first America; 3 million citizens clinging to the eastern edge of a vast, uncharted wilderness. Truly, “a land of opportunity.” Eighty years later – 1863 – we were in the middle of a war between ourselves. (1861-1865) And July 2nd of that year – the middle day in the 3-day Battle of Gettysburg – was also the middle day of the middle year in our 5-year Civil War. Fourteen years after the Civil War ended, Charles M. Russell and Frederic Remington headed west to capture the ending of the Wild West. Their paintings and sculptures of those ending days now sell for millions of dollars. Nineteen years after Charlie and Fred headed West, https://www.pbs.org/tpt/slavery-by-another-name/themes/progressivism/ (Teddy Roosevelt) led his “rough riders” up a hill during the Spanish-American War. His arrival on that hilltop signaled the end of the Wild West, the end of the Spanish Empire, and the end of the first America.1 As I said earlier, every beginning starts with an ending.The second America began when Teddy became President in 1901. This second America was a land of progress and achievement, a World Power, a country of cars and department stores and Coca-Cola, electric lights, running water, and houses everywhere. Do you remember when Whitney Houston sang, “I Wanna Dance with Somebody”? America's memory of the Civil War was more recent than that when they elected Teddy Roosevelt. One of Teddy's first official actions was to invite Booker T. Washington, a black educator, to dinner at the White House. White-hot rage was ignited across the South. According to historian Deborah Davis, “There was hell to pay… This story did not go away. An assassin was hired to go to Tuskegee to kill Booker T. Washington. He was pursued wherever he went… There were vulgar cartoons of Mrs. Roosevelt that had never been done before.” The Revolutionary War ended and the first America began: Opportunity America. One hundred and twelve years later – 1901 – the second America began: Achievement America. One hundred and twelve years later – 2013 – the third America began: Virtual America, a “sharing economy” featuring virtual ownership, (Airbnb, Uber, TaskRabbit) virtual currency, (Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin) virtual reality. (Facebook, Twitter, TikTok) 2013 was also the halfway point in the upswing of society's pendulum toward the zenith of our current “We” cycle. The halfway point is where we begin to take a good thing too far. In 2013 we shifted from “fighting together for the common good” to simply “fighting together.” Western Civilization2 has done this every 80 years for the past 3 millennia. I wrote at length about it in https://smile.amazon.com/Pendulum-Generations-Present-Williams-2012-10-02/dp/B01LP466GG/ref=sr_1_2?crid=3C4JZB95AWFYE&dchild=1&keywords=pendulum+roy+williams&qid=1605625725&sprefix=Pendulum+roy%2Caps%2C186&sr=8-2 (Pendulum) several years ago: 1783 marked the ending of our Revolutionary War.1783 was the zenith of a “We.”80 years later… 1863 marked the middle of our Civil War. 1863 was the zenith of a “We.” 80 years later… 1943 marked the middle of WWII. 1943 was the zenith of a “We.” 80 years later… 2023 will mark the zenith of our current “We.” I wonder what we'll be in the middle of then? Roy H. Williams 1 the America of George W. and Thomas J. and Benjamin F. and Samuel Adams, the patron saint of beer.  2 Western Civilization began 3,000 years ago in Israel and Persia, then expanded to ancient Greece, then to Rome, then to Britain who took it to North America and Australia.

The boys tip their hat to two of the most famous western painters and sculptors of all time - Frederic Remington and Charles M. Russell. Labeled by some as the "Norman Rockwell" of the American West, these two artists recorded the authentic look of the west on canvas as a reference for all future generations.

The hike up Brandon Butte, in the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge south of Malta, is a great way to get big views of the Missouri River and Fort Peck Lake. Those aren’t all you’ll see, though; this unique prairie ecosystem is home to mule deer, elk, bighorn sheep, and sage grouse. The climb to the top of the butte is gradual, and when you’re reached the summit, you can wander for miles and enjoy the spectacular landscape of river breaks and wild rolling prairie that make up Montana’s wild heart. Photo by Tim Faber

The Jewish Sabbath begins each Friday at sunset because the fifth verse of Genesis reads, “And the evening and the morning were the first day.” Every beginning starts with an ending. Thirteen colonies became 13 “united states” when our fight for freedom ended and our government under a Constitution began in 1789. This was the beginning of the first America, a land of freedom and opportunity. Those “united states” became somewhat less united during our Civil War of 1861 to 1865. More about that later. In 1880 and 1881, Charles M. Russell and Frederic Remington headed west to capture memories of a time they saw to be ending. Their paintings and sculptures of the Wild West now sell for millions of dollars. Teddy Roosevelt took the last traces of the Wild West to Cuba in 1898 when he led his “rough riders” to the top of a now-famous hill during the Spanish-American War. His arrival on that hill signaled the ending of the Wild West, the ending of the Spanish Empire, and the ending of the first America. The second America began when Teddy Roosevelt became President in 1901. America was now a land of achievement, a World Power, a nation of cars and department stores and Coca-Cola, electric lights, running water and tract houses. We fought two World Wars, Korea, Viet Nam, and Desert Storm before the end of that century and we taught our children that anyone could work as a tradesman, but if you wanted a “good-paying job” you needed to go to college. It took 112 years to move from the end of our fight for freedom to Teddy Roosevelt's land of achievement and the beginning of the second America in 1901. In 2013 – one hundred and twelve years after Teddy took the White House – we saw the unwinding of achievement and the beginning of the third America, a land of virtual reality, virtual currency, and virtual ownership. Massive multiplayer online games, Bitcoin and Uber, Facebook and Twitter, Google and Airbnb.* 2013 also marked the halfway point in the upswing of society's pendulum toward the zenith of our current “We.” The halfway point in the upswing of a “We” is where we begin to take a good thing too far. We shift from “fighting together for the common good” to simply “fighting together.” Western Civilization has done this every 8th decade for the past 3,000 years. I wrote at length about this in https://smile.amazon.com/Pendulum-Generations-Present-Predict-Future/dp/1593157061/ref=sr_1_9?keywords=Pendulum&qid=1558997401&s=books&sr=1-9 (Pendulum) a number of years ago. Do you remember that book? 1783 marked the ending of our Revolutionary War. 1783 was the zenith of a “We.” 1863 marked the middle of our Civil War. 1863 was the zenith of a “We.” 1943 marked the middle of WWII. 1943 was the zenith of a “We.” 2023 will mark the zenith of our current “We.” I wonder what we'll be in the middle of, then? It is important to remember that the swinging of society's pendulum between the zeniths of the “Me” (1983) and the “We” (2023) is a sociological swing, not a psychological one.Sociology is the study of the values and beliefs and motives of people groups. Psychology is the study of the values, beliefs, and motives of the individual. Let's talk some more about endings. And sociology. Scientific American recently published https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/the-real-reason-fans-hate-the-last-season-of-game-of-thrones/?redirect=1 (the definitive explanation of why the final season of Game of Thrones fell short) of the mark set by George R.R. Martin. According to Zeynep Tufekci, we loved the first 7 seasons of the show because, “it was sociological and institutional storytelling in a medium dominated by the psychological and the individual… This is an important shift to dissect because whether we tell our stories primarily from a sociological or psychological point of view has great consequences for how we deal with our world and the problems we...

Fort Benton’s Overholser Historical Research Center historian Ken Robison unveils new and neglected stories of Montanans in the Great War. Robison shares tales from Montanans serving around the world, focusing on the role of Montana’s women U.S. Navy yeomen, nurses, and “Hello Girls”; Montanans in the Russian Railway Service Corps; the unknown role Charles M. Russell played in support of the war; the contributions of Montana’s ethnic citizens to World War I; and more.

Joe De Yong: A Life in the West by William Reynolds The first book about the life of western artist, Joe De Yong, the only protégé of famed cowboy artist, Charles M. Russell, chronicles De Yong’s life and contribution to the preservation and celebration of the ways of the American West through his art, writings, illustrated letters and personal collection. Joseph Franklin De Yong was a cowboy artist, protégé of Charles Marion Russell (Montana’s cowboy artist), and an historical consultant on western films. Dan Gagliasso wrote, “While director John Ford made extensive use of Frederic Remington’s art in his western films, it was the Russell ‘look,’ kept alive by De Yong’s costume designs, scenic sketch art, and historical advice, that influenced the form and feel of such classic Westerns as The Plainsman (1937), Union Pacific (1939), Buffalo Bill (1944), Red River (1948), and Shane (1953).” The authentic work De Yong did in film continues to influence the way costume and set designs for western movies are conceived, as evidenced in classics like Dances with Wolves and Unforgiven, and the mini-series Lonesome Dove. Joe De Yong: A Life in the West (Alamar Media/September 2018) by William Reynolds is an in-depth biography that takes readers on an incredible journey exploring western culture of the early 20th Century through the story of one unsung cowboy. Reynolds tells De Yong’s story by including photographs of sketches, paintings and documents culled from private collectors as well as from the permanent collections of major western museums. De Yong’s life was one of challenges, including overcoming cerebral meningitis in 1913 that left him totally deaf. Never one for self-pity, De Yong went on to become the only protégé of his artistic hero Charles M. Russell. He would take the skills he learned and make a life in the movie business working with Cecil B. DeMille and many others. The early films De Yong worked on created a pathway to authentic depictions that - while it was never loudly recognized - was utilized by many in the industry. Over ten years of research, Reynolds reveals the life of a relatively unknown artist/illustrator who started out to be “just a cowboy” who turns out was quite a “mover and shaker” touching the lives of so many in the western art world of the 1920s through the late 1960s. This long-awaited, in-depth, biography a treat for any western art fan or disciple of Charles M. Russell. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: William Reynolds is a

Viewed against the backdrop of the early decades of the twentieth century, Nancy Cooper Russell was a woman ahead of her time. A self-taught businesswoman with an innate ability to take charge, she helped turn her husband, rambunctious cowboy Charles M. Russell, into one of America’s most highly acclaimed western artists. Today, scholars consistently identify Nancy as the entrepreneurial force behind the extraordinary number of Russell paintings and sculptures that now grace public galleries and private collections. In a performance that brings Nancy to life, actress Mary Jane Bradbury shares the story of how the couple met, describes the world of art into which Nancy propelled them, and tells about the artists and celebrities the Russells befriended as they traveled from Montana to New York City, and eventually to a growing California suburb called Hollywood.