Captain William Clark of the Lewis and Clark Expedition Meeting with the Indians of the Northwest by Charles M. Russell
Charles M. Russell | Captain William Clark of the Lewis and Clark Expedition Meeting with the Indians of the Northwest | 1897 | Oil on canvas | 29 1/2 inches x 41 1/2 inches
About the Work
The Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804-1806) stirred Russell's imagination like no other event in Montana's past and he returned to the subject many times
both in color and black and white. Though this painting was originally called Lewis and Clark Meeting the Mandan Indians, the specific event
Russell meant to depict remains unclear. Here, Clark steps forward with aloof dignity to shake hands with the leader while Charbonneau, husband of
Sacajawea, interprets and Clark's African-American servant, York, looks on. York played a significant role in one of the most notable explorations in
history. As was traditional at the time, the figures appear stiffly conventionalized and the colors "kind of stout," to use Russell's own words, running to
browns and greys. Nonetheless, this impressive, large-scale painting was a touchstone work in defining Russell's local reputation in the year he took up
permanent residence in Great Falls.
