Charles M. Russell, Word Painter

Charles M. Russell, the 19th-century painter of the American West, was also a skilful storyteller and correspondent. He illustrated his letters with sketches in pen or watercolour, and had a talent for turning a phrase and capturing a scene with words. This book provides an assemblage of Russell's correspondence, and shows that Russell was an artist with words as well as paint. Written to his wife Nancy, to patrons and fellow artists, and to the saloon keepers and cowboys who remained his friends for 40 years, the letters reveal a modest man with a sharp eye for social detail. Each letter is reproduced in facsimile, allowing modern readers to see exactly what Russell's correspondents saw expressed in the artist's own handwriting, with his idiosyncratic spellings and interweaving of colourful sketches and eloquent words on a page.