Charles M. Russell’s fine oil painting Scouting Party, dated 1900, will be the centerpiece offering at the live auction of The Russell: An Exhibition and Sale to Benefit the C.M. Russell Museum.
The 20″x14″ oil painting is estimated to be sold for between $900,000 and $1.3 million. The live auction is set for March 21, 2015, at the Mansfield Convention Center in Great Falls. Russell Museum chief curator Sarah Burt said Scouting Party is one of a series of Russell paintings that featured the legendary Blackfeet warrior White Quiver, known as the greatest horse raider of his time.
“In Scouting Party, Russell identifies the famous fighter by his wolf-skin bonnet with a single eagle feather. White Quiver is leading a band of warriors down a craggy mountain trail. He has suddenly stopped the descent because, by the tilt of his head, it is clear that he has either spotted or heard something on the trail ahead,” Burt said. Burt stated that another distinctive feature of Scouting Party is the fact that it does not conclusively show how the scene unfolds.
The Russell kicks off the 2015 season with an Art Preview Party on Thursday, March 19 at the C.M. Russell Museum, culminating in The Russell Saturday Night Live Auction, featuring superior historic and contemporary Western art. BNSF Railway is the 2015 Presenting Sponsor of The Russell: An Exhibition and Sale to Benefit the C.M. Russell Museum.
For more information on The Russell, please click here to visit the website.
