Antique, old Charles Russell Western Prints of Cowboys, Indians, Western life (early 20th century prints from Brown and Bigelow and The Moscrip Picture Company)

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Genuine vintage prints of Charles M. Russell's Western paintings

Published by Brown and Bigelow of St. Paul, Minnesota and The Moscrip Picture Company of Great Falls, Montana.
These are some of the earliest prints of Russell's paintings—they were acquired by our founder, Fred T. Darvill, on a trip through Montana prior to 1930.

Background: Fred T. Darvill, an Englishman who emigrated to the United States in the late 1800s, was a great fan of the American Wild West. So much so that he amassed a huge collection of original paintings and drawings from Western art legends like Charles Russell, E.A. Burbank, and Jerome Howard Smith. He also wanted to have prints of Western scenes available for sale in the rare print shop so he contacted printers and publishers in the 1910s and 1920s and purchased large quantities of Russell prints. It is these prints—directly from the printing houses in the early 20th century—that are offered here.

When Darvill's Rare Print Shop was in San Francisco in the 1920s and 1930s, Mr. Darvill became good friends (and valued collector) to Russell, Burbank and Smith. He had hoped to live to see a museum established to honor the great Western artists. Sadly, as he approached his 90th birthday, there was still no such museum to pass on his impressive collection of Western art. Thus, in 1972 at the age of 91, he reluctantly sold his entire collection of genuine oil paintings and drawings by Russell, Burbank, and Smith.

Mr. Darvill died at the age of 95 in 1976, but his love of Western art lives on through the prints he commissioned and published. Many of these prints are only to be found here at Darvill's.

The condition of the prints is generally excellent. Keep in mind, however, that they are at least 85 years old and though they have been stored flat and in a dark, climate-controlled environment, some may have minor corner or edge wear or browning to the extreme edges of the paper. We will always indicate any flaws that might be deemed obtrusive.

Brown & Bigelow (St. Paul, Minnesota) prints from before 1930.
[scroll down for prints from The Moscrip Picture Co. (Great Falls, Montana) from the same time period.]

E.A. Burbank portrait of Charles M. Russell

(Portrait of Charles M. Russell by another famous Western artist, E.A. Burbank. This portrait was commissioned by our founder, Fred T. Darvill, and published in San Francisco in 1939. To this day it is only available here at Darvill's Rare Prints.)

Charles Marion Russell (1864-1926) was many things: consummate Westerner, historian, advocate of the Northern Plains Indians, cowboy, outdoorsman, writer, philosopher, environmentalist, conservationist, and not least, artist. Born in St. Louis, Russell dreamed of being a cowboy, living the exciting life of men on the range. Russell came to the Judith Basin of Montana in 1880 a few days after his 16th birthday. Working briefly tending sheep, he realized that his dreams of the West were not to be fulfilled in this manner. He soon teamed up with a local hunter, Jake Hoover, with whom he spent two years sharing a cabin on the South Fork of the Judith River. Shortly thereafter, Russell became a night wrangler for the Judith Basin Roundup.

This was exactly what Russell the child had dreamed of, and what Russell the adult wanted and needed. It gave him time to observe the cowboys at work during the day, and to sketch and document all the activities and excitement of the cow camp. He continued to work as a cowboy and wrangler for 11 years before retiring to become a full-time artist.

Russell greatly admired the American Indians, especially those of the Northern Plains. He spent the summer of 1888 visiting often with the Blood Indians in Alberta, Canada. This experience affected him for the rest of his life, and can be seen in the many detailed works he created of Plains Indians.

Charlie married Nancy Cooper in 1896. He painted and sculpted in his log studio adjacent to their home, filling it with his collection of Indian clothing, utilitarian objects, weapons, cowboy gear, "horse jewelry," and other western "props" useful in accurately depicting the scenes of the Old West of which he was so fond. It was here that Russell completed all of his major paintings after the studio's construction in 1903. In 1916, Charlie and Nancy adopted their son, Jack.

While Jake Hoover may have kept Charlie Russell here as a young adult, it was Charlie's love of Montana that kept him here for 46 years. The life he observed and participated in greatly influenced his art and personal philosophy. He painted in a time when there was considerable interest in the West. Charlie's works were popular because of their narrative subject matter, unique style, and dynamic action. In addition, he had the ability to accurately depict specific times or events in western history. Russell died on October 24, 1926 at his home in Great Falls, Montana.

Charlie Russell completed approximately 4,000 works of art during his lifetime. He was the first "Western" artist to live the majority of his life in the West. For this reason, Charlie knew his subject matter intimately, setting the standard for many western artists to follow.

[Reference source: cmrussell.org]

(click thumbnail for enlargement)

THE SIGNAL FIRE

Sheet size approx. 10.5 x 14.25 inches
Image size approx. 9.75 x 13.75 inches

Brown & Bigelow full-colour letterpress print from prior to 1930.

$75

(click thumbnail for enlargement)

SUN WORSHIPPERS

Sheet size approx. 10.5 x 14.25 inches
Image size approx. 9.75 x 13.75 inches

Brown & Bigelow full-colour letterpress print from prior to 1930.

$75

(click thumbnail for enlargement)

PLANNING THE ATTACK

Sheet size approx. 10.5 x 14.25 inches
Image size approx. 9.75 x 13.75 inches

Brown & Bigelow full-colour letterpress print from prior to 1930.

$75

(click thumbnail for enlargement)

THE WAGON BOSS

Sheet size approx. 10.5 x 14.25 inches
Image size approx. 9.75 x 13.75 inches

Brown & Bigelow full-colour letterpress print from prior to 1930.

$75

(click thumbnail for enlargement)

STAMPEDED

Sheet size approx. 10.5 x 14.25 inches
Image size approx. 9.75 x 13.75 inches

Brown & Bigelow full-colour letterpress print from prior to 1930.

$75

(click thumbnail for enlargement)

WHEN IGNORANCE IS BLISS

Sheet size approx. 10.5 x 14.25 inches
Image size approx. 9.75 x 13.75 inches

Brown & Bigelow full-colour letterpress print from prior to 1930.

$75

(click thumbnail for enlargement)

A DISPUTED TRAIL

Sheet size approx. 10.5 x 14.25 inches
Image size approx. 9.75 x 13.75 inches

Brown & Bigelow full-colour letterpress print from prior to 1930. NOTE: There is a small dark dot to the left of bear's head (which occurred during printing) that may distract some viewers.

$75

(click thumbnail for enlargement)

BUCKING BRONCO

Sheet size approx. 10.5 x 14.25 inches
Image size approx. 9.75 x 13.75 inches

Brown & Bigelow full-colour letterpress print from prior to 1930.

$75

(click thumbnail for enlargement)

IN WITHOUT KNOCKING

Sheet size approx. 10.5 x 14.25 inches
Image size approx. 9.75 x 13.75 inches

Brown & Bigelow full-colour letterpress print from prior to 1930.

$75

(click thumbnail for enlargement)

THE COWBOY ARTIST
CHARLES M. RUSSELL

Sheet size approx. 10½ x 12¼ inches

A 1939 print from the original pencil drawing of Charles M. Russell by the famous Western artist E.A. Burbank. This portrait was commissioned and published by the founder of our business when Darvill's Rare Print Shop was in San Francisco in the late 1930s. Only available here.

$75

The Moscrip Picture Company (Great Falls, Montana)
prints from before 1930.
[scroll up for prints from Brown & Bigelow of St. Paul, Minnestota
from the same time period.]

(click thumbnail for enlargement)

THE SIGNAL FIRE

Sheet size approx. 11.25 x 14.25 inches
Image size approx. 11 x 14 inches

The Moscrip Picture Company of Great Falls, Montana print from prior to 1930.

$75

(click thumbnail for enlargement)

SUN WORSHIPPERS

Sheet size approx. 16.5 x 11.25 inches
Image size approx. 16 x 11 inches

The Moscrip Picture Company of Great Falls, Montana print from prior to 1930.

$75

(click thumbnail for enlargement)

PLANNING THE ATTACK

Sheet size approx. 14.25 x 10.25 inches
Image size approx. 14 x 10 inches

The Moscrip Picture Company of Great Falls, Montana print from prior to 1930.

$75

(click thumbnail for enlargement)

THE WAGON BOSS

Sheet size approx. 16.5 x 10.75 inches
Image size approx. 16 x 10.25 inches

The Moscrip Picture Company of Great Falls, Montana print from prior to 1930.

$75

(click thumbnail for enlargement)

THE BUFFALO HUNT

Sheet size approx. 11.25 x 7.75 inches
Image size approx. 10.75 x 7.5 inches

The Moscrip Picture Company of Great Falls, Montana print from prior to 1930.

$75

(click thumbnail for enlargement)

IN THE WAKE OF THE BUFFALO RUNNERS

Sheet size approx. 10.5 x 7.75 inches
Image size approx. 10 x 7.25 inches

The Moscrip Picture Company of Great Falls, Montana print from prior to 1930.

$75

(click thumbnail for enlargement)

THE QUEEN'S WAR HOUNDS

Sheet size approx. 14.5 x 9.75 inches
Image size approx. 14 x 9.25 inches

The Moscrip Picture Company of Great Falls, Montana print from prior to 1930.

$75

(click thumbnail for enlargement)

TROUBLE HUNTERS

Sheet size approx. 13.25 x 18.25 inches
Image size approx. 12.75 x 17.75 inches

The Moscrip Picture Company of Great Falls, Montana print from prior to 1930.

$75

(click thumbnail for enlargement)

THE COWBOY ARTIST
CHARLES M. RUSSELL

Sheet size approx. 10.5 x 12.25 inches

A 1939 print from the original pencil drawing of Charles M. Russell by the famous Western artist E.A. Burbank. This portrait was commissioned and published by the founder of our business when Darvill's Rare Print Shop was in San Francisco in the late 1930s. Only available here.

$75

(front)
(front)

Russell and his Indian Friend

Postcard: 5.5 x 3.5 inches
1952 Trail's End Pub. Co., Inc.

$15

NOTE: the shopping cart will charge "normal" shipping on this item, but we will send it in a well-protected envelope and we will refund the extra shipping that you are charged by the automatic system.

(front, back is blank)

Watchers of the Plains

Postcard: 6.5 x 4.5 inches

date unknown, probably 1950-1960
Published by the Leanin' Tree, Boulder, Colorado

$15

(front, back is blank)

The Indian of the Plains

Postcard: 6.5 x 4.5 inches

date unknown, probably 1950-1960
Published by the Leanin' Tree, Boulder, Colorado

$15

(front)
(front)

Waiting for a Chinook
or The Last of Five Thousand

Postcard: 5.5 x 3.5 inches
Robbins-Tillquist Co., Spokane, Wash.
[only one available]

(front, back is blank)

Rim-Fire Double Cinch Rig

Postcard: 6.5 x 4.5 inches

$15

(front, back is blank)

Jim Bridger Coming into Fort Benton

Postcard: 6.5 x 4.5 inches

date unknown, probably 1950-1960
Published by the Leanin' Tree, Boulder, Colorado

$15

(front)
(front)

Battle of the Redmen

Postcard: 5.5 x 3.5 inches
1952 Trail's End Pub. Co., Inc.

(front)
(front)

Mourning her Warrior dead

Postcard: 5.5 x 3.5 inches
1952 Trail's End Pub. Co., Inc.

(front)
(front)

Here's How!

Postcard: 5.5 x 3.5 inches
1952 Trail's End Pub. Co., Inc.

Many more original antique and vintage Native American prints here