One of the most typical painted plaster multiples that Russell produced over a number of years as a gift to family and friends was the small figure of a reclining longhorn. A number of these figures survive, and each one is different; Russell altered the colors and changed certain details on the animal such as the horns or the brand to suit the recipient of the model. Russell regarded the longhorn as another animal whose heroic role in the development of the West would not save it from extinction by the forces of progress. “God made cows with horns to defend herself and when a wolf got meat it wasn’t easy,” Russell once wrote a friend, “often he was so full of horn holes he wasn’t hungry.” In actuality, the colors of longhorn steers were so varied that no two were said to be alike, with colors ranging from virtually any combination of earth tones to bluish grays and a wide variety of yellows, and spots and patterns of all kinds. For all such multiples, Russell first fashioned a model in clay, then used it to create a flexible glue or rubber mold that he would then fill with plaster to create a number of casts. He usually fashioned the bases separately, first making a coil of iron wire to create an armature before modeling thickened plaster around it. Appendages such as the horns and ears on the animal were generally fashioned and attached after the body was cast. After some touching up with various tools to sharpen detail (or add things like a brand), Russell gave the plaster a coat of shellac or varnish to seal it and allow the subsequent paint to stick.