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D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA N A M A G A Z I N E
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S U M M E R 2 0 2 3
H
istorians say the cowboy era of the West only lasted
about 30 years, beginning with the end of the Civil War,
and ending in 1895 with the decline of the open range.
Charlie Russell's life circumscribed that same period. Born in
1864, he would see the cowboys rise and fall, and live to tell, or
paint, or sculpt the tale for a few short decades before he, too,
became a figure of legend.
And it is no small part due to Charlie Russell that the brief in-
terlude of history which we call the Wild West is so vividly re-
membered in our global consciousness. He showed us what the
West looked like to him, and the rest of us still can't get enough.
Some ten years after the historical demise of the cowboy era,
Charlie Russell built Bull Head Lodge on the southern end of
Lake McDonald. Charlie and his devoted wife Nancy would
spend every summer there from 1907 until the end of his life.
It would become his favorite place in the world; a refuge away
from the troubles of the world, a warm hearth in the middle of a
vast and untouched wilderness, and, in quiet moments, a studio
where Russell would paint.
"Charlie would
don e cloes
a noble
Indian Chief"
Visiting
Bu
Head
Lodge
—
—
—
Charlie
Rue
at
article by JOSEPH SHELTON • illustrations by ROBERT RATH
