There is a slightly different format for The Russell this year, which means there’s also a small shift in the annual Russell Skull Society of Artists exhibition. The presentation may be a little different, but expect the same high-quality artwork from many of the top Western artists working today.
Don Oelze, The Soldiers are Coming, oil, 34 x 50” Estimate: $16/20,000
This year’s Skull Society show will be integrated into The Russell’s live auction component on August 21 at the C.M. Russell Museum in Great Falls, Montana. Normal years would include special artist suites and other events, but organizers of the event, as well as the artists themselves, are still excited the Skull Society will have a big presence at the show and sale.
Artists in the Skull Society include Nancy Dunlop Cawdrey, Troy Collins, Todd Connor, Brent Cotton, C. Michael Dudash, Charles Fritz, John C. Gawne, R. Tom Gilleon, Carol Hagan, Jennifer Johnson, Greg Kelsey, Lee Kromschroeder, Joe Kronenberg, Chris Owen, John R. Phelps, Chad Poppleton, Gary Lynn Roberts, W. Steve Seltzer, Brett James Smith, Andy Thomas and Randy Van Beek.
Jennifer Johnson, Prismatic Hues, oil, 24 x 48” Estimate: $10/14,000
Don Oelze, a new artist to the group for 2021, will be presenting his piece The Soldiers are Coming (est. $16/20,000), a large oil measuring 34 by 50 inches. “In the latter half of the 19th century a series of conflicts occurred between the Lakota Sioux and the Northern Cheyenne people,” Oelze says. “It was a dramatic tale of a culture attempting to retain their way of life, but in the end succumbing to overwhelming odds. In this painting a group of warrior scouts have discovered that they are being pursued by the army into a territory that they previously had considered a safe haven.”
W. Steve Seltzer, A Familiar Landmark, oil, 30 x 36” Estimate: $8/11,000
Luke Frazier, a member since 2020, will be offering Out of the Shadows, a wildlife image showing a large elk in cold morning air. “Elk habitat some of the gnarliest terrain possible—they find themselves right at home in the deepest darkest canyons and windblown down fall,” Frazier says. “Trying to get a glimpse of a big bull working a herd is hard enough, getting him to scream a bugle in the perfect light is magic.”
Other works include action-filled When Winter Prayers are Answered (est. $6/6,500), Seltzer’s A Familiar Landmark (est. $8/11,000), Van Beek’s Blackfeet Hunters Return to Camp (est. $17/22,000) and Johnson’s stunning bison painting, Prismatic Hues (est. $10/14,000). —
The Russell
When: August 21, 10 a.m.
Where: C.M. Russell Museum, 400 13th Street North, Great Falls, MT 59401
Information: (406) 727-1939,
www.cmrussell.org/the-russell
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