Indian Head, 1904. Charles M. Russell, E.S. Paxson, and Charles Schatzlein.
Pencil, watercolor, and gouache on paper, 15 1/4 × 9 1/4 inches. Sid Richardson Museum.
This portrait is the work of three Montanans: Charles Russell; his close friend and first serious art dealer Charles Schatzlein; and, Edgar S. Paxson, an artist. Judging from the end result, Paxson was the guiding spirit behind this joint endeavor. His reputation rested on a few large historical oil paintings and numerous watercolor American Indian portraits, of which this one is typical. Russell’s contribution is difficult to ascertain since the pose, drawing and greenish coloration are all so characteristic of Paxson’s work. The circumstances under which Indian Head was painted in 1904 are unknown, but the same threesome collaborated again in 1906 on a mural that decorated Schatzlein’s dining room.
