cover image Charles M. Russell, Word Painter: Letters, 1887-1926

Charles M. Russell, Word Painter: Letters, 1887-1926

Charles M. Russell. Amon Carter Museum, $95 (435pp) ISBN 978-0-8109-3764-2

A popular painter of the American West, Russell (1864-1926) reveled in what he called his ``paper talk''--illustrated letters and stories that gave free rein to his earthy humor and keen social observations. This charming assemblage reproduces hundreds of illustrated letters, envelopes, inscriptions and greetings that Russell sent to his wife Nancy and to cowboys, saloon-keepers, ranchers and fellow artists. Russell's crabbed, jumbled handwriting, his colorful turns of phrase and impromptu pen or watercolor sketches blend to create a savory account of an Old West that, in his view, was being spoiled by moralists, prohibitionists, farmers and tourists--all in the name of progress. In his well-researched commentary, Dippie, a history professor in British Columbia, portrays this man from Missouri, transplanted to Montana, whose caricatures, scenes of daily life and pictures of cowboys, Indians and wildlife reflect his iconoclastic spirit, good humor and love of nature. (Oct.)