CHARLES M. RUSSELL

The Buffalo Hunt [Wild Meat for Wild Men], 1899. Charles M. Russell.
Oil on canvas, 24 1/8 × 36 1/8 inches. Sid Richardson Museum.

By 1899 Russell had developed a complete command of the portrayal of American Indians hunting buffalo. No other artist could touch him when it came to conveying the wild excitement of a buffalo chase. Rather than a broadside view, here the buffalo and their pursuers run toward the viewer. Hunters often carried extra arrows and the figure on the left clutches his in his teeth. The Indigenous man in the background sports a red headband, which not only serves as a color highlight but also represents the custom of the Assiniboines, who before the chase tied their hair with bands on top of their heads.