Meat for Wagons 1925

Charles M. Russell made this dramatic painting of a buffalo hunt, probably in oil, at the end of his life. The colours are warm, ochres and earth tones, which make the scene feel close, like you can smell the dust. There's so much energy in the way Russell applies the paint; it's like he's trying to capture not just the look, but the feeling of the hunt, the danger, the chaos. Look at the way he's dabbed in these short strokes for the grass. It's almost like he's using the paint to animate the scene, to make it vibrate with life. Then, over on the right there, the way he uses the paint to give form to that hillside - it's all about the surface! Russell is great at capturing a moment in time. It reminds me a little bit of Winslow Homer, a master of light and atmosphere. But where Homer is all about the vastness of the ocean, Russell’s focused on the grit and the glory of the American West. Art's just a conversation, right?