CHARLES M. RUSSELL

Man’s Weapons Are Useless When Nature Goes Armed, 1916. Charles M. Russell.
Oil on canvas, 30 × 48 1/8 inches. Sid Richardson Museum.

While Russell painted buffalo and bear in profusion as symbols of the untamed West, he also loved nature’s smaller creatures, from the prairie dog to the field mouse and, as this humorous tribute suggests, had nothing but respect for the lowly skunk. Two hunters return at dusk after a day in the field to find their camp ransacked and their evening meal of pork and beans partially devoured by an invading duo that they can repel only at the risk of having their nest fouled. This amusing oil was inscribed as a thank you to Russell’s good friend, Howard Eaton, a pioneer dude rancher, after Russell rode with Eaton on a particularly memorable trip through Arizona and along the Grand Canyon in October, 1916.