[originaltext] The men who write TV Westerns would be hard put to create a c

The men who write TV Westerns would be hard put to create a character as fabulous as Charles Marion Russell. He was a painter, sculptor, and professional cowboy. He lived the life of a cowhand in the old West during the feverish days of fast horses and faster guns. At the same time he created realistic images of the West in bronze and on canvas.
   Russell was born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1864. He may have inherited his artistic talent from his mother, who was an accomplished amateur painter. When Russell was 15, his parents finally yielded to his craving for the West and allowed him to go to a ranch in Montana.
    When Russell arrived there, the few white men in Montana were mostly miners and cattlemen. The Indians--Sioux and Cheyenne--still had vivid memories of the Sioux victory over Custer in 1876.
    Russell sketched what he saw: cowhands, Indians, homesteaders, horses, buffaloes, and wolves. From on-the-spot sketches came most of his famous paintings and magnificent bronze statues.