Amon Carter print details

Indian Family with Travois

Charles M. Russell (1864-1926)

Object Details

  • Date

    1897

  • Medium

    Watercolor and graphite on paper

  • Dimensions

    13 3/4 x 22 1/4 in.

  • Inscriptions

    Recto:

    l.l.signed and dated : C M Russell \ 1897 \ [skull]

  • Collection Name

    Amon G. Carter Collection

  • Credit Line

    Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas, Amon G. Carter Collection

  • Accession Number

    1961.141

  • Copyright

    Public domain

Object Description

Russell’s romantic portrayals of Indigenous life are well-known, but the Indigenous people that he knew and developed relationships with are often overlooked. Josephine Wright, a Blackfoot woman, featured prominently in Russell’s art. Prior to knowing the artist, Wright served for a time as a housekeeper in the home of Ben and Lela Roberts, two of Russell’s neighbors in Cascade, Montana. She shared this work with Nancy Cooper, whom Russell befriended in 1895 and subsequently married. When Charlie and Nancy moved to Great Falls in 1897, Wright joined them, taking on a position as their housekeeper.

In addition to her domestic responsibilities, Wright served as one of Russell’s models. She likely posed for this watercolor, which Russell executed the year of their move to Great Falls. Few details of Russell and Wright’s interactions in the studio survive, but their close working relationship raises questions about how she may have shaped the choices he made in his art and informed his knowledge of Blackfoot life and culture.

—Text taken from the Carter Handbook (2023)

Additional details

Location: Off view
W28-artist-CMYK-CarterBlack
See more by Charles M. Russell

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Educator Resources
  • How do representations of American Indians reflect perceptions? What impact might those representations have on audiences past and present?

    What is the relationship between people and machines, and how has that relationship changed over time?

    What strategies might an artist use to convey a narrative?

    How do sensory details in an artwork influence the viewer's experience?

  • Access this artwork through Google Arts & Culture to be able to zoom in and see details.

    • What do you see?
    • Who are the different characters in this story?
    • How many people are you seeing?

    Pictured here are members of the Blackfoot tribe, who made their homeland on the northern plains. What elements of the painting would help us to discover that information? The landscape and the use of a travois, also known as a drag sled, all indicate that the people in this painting are in the northern plains.

    A travois (a French word pronounced trav-wah) was a traditional Native American device for carrying loads across distances. This tool was made of two wooden poles with a platform, basket, or netting suspended between them. It could be attached to the back of a dog, team of dogs, or horse.

    What aspects of American Indian life does Russell choose to portray in this image?

    How does Russell portray the lives of Blackfoot women? What visual cues did you see that helped you to know?

    What do you think they are doing here? Is the Blackfoot tribe nomadic? How can you tell?

    What is the role of animals in this artwork? How would this situation be different if the women did not have animals helping them?

    What tools do the women have? Where might Russell have obtained the objects, tools, and clothing that he used as references for this painting? What is the importance of these tools? What modern-day devices might take the place of the ones shown in this painting? How have modern tools changed work?

    Russell used watercolors to create this painting. What techniques did the artist use to give us sensory details?

    What is cultural appropriation? What is the difference between appropriation and appreciation?

    The artist, Charles M. Russell, was not a member of this tribe; how might Russell’s depiction of these women be limited because of that fact? Do you see evidence of appropriation or stereotyping of the Blackfoot tribe or of American Indians more broadly?

    Why is it important for viewers to consider the perspectives and experiences of the people being represented in works of art?

  • Grades Pre-K–3

    Students will imagine they have stepped inside the painting and complete sentences about their senses.

    • If I were inside this painting, I would see ...
    • If I were inside this painting, I would taste ...
    • If I were inside this painting, I would hear ...
    • If I were inside this painting, I would smell ...
    • If I were inside this painting, I would feel ...

    Grades 3–5

    Students will make a chart identifying different nouns, verbs, and adjectives in the painting. Under nouns, the students will make a list of five to 10 different nouns they see in the painting. Repeat for the adjective and verbs.

    Added challenge: Make it a game! Have students go down a line saying the nouns/verbs/adjectives, but no one can repeat a previously used word! If a student repeats or takes longer than 15 seconds to answer, they are out for that round.

    Grades 6–12

    Students will research contemporary artists who identify as American Indian. Then they will write a short essay about the differences in perspectives between a non-American Indian artist who makes artworks about American Indians compared to American Indians making art about their own culture.

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