Russell greatly enjoyed modeling wax and clay figures of animals on oddly shaped roots or fragments of tree branches that he picked up around his summer cabin at Glacier National Park. Bears were a favorite subject, and a number of the artist’s original models show these animals in a variety of activities around pieces of natural wood that resemble trees or fallen logs. While most of these were not intended to be cast in bronze, Russell did model one version for that purpose—a female grizzly and her two cubs clambering on a fallen tree, which came to be known as Mountain Mother. Russell probably witnessed this scene a number of times during his early years in Montana, and he accurately portrayed the busy, whimsical energy of a bear family always on the move for food, with the mother constantly watching out for her cubs’ safety. The cub at the rear is especially endearing, as it tries to imitate the long strides of its mother. The earliest bronze of this subject that is noted was delivered by Roman Bronze Works to Nancy Russell in October 1924. The bronze was first exhibited the following January in New York, where a copy was sold for $300. After Russell’s death the price jumped to $375, and a couple more were sold. In 1928 Nancy Russell transferred her casting activity to the California Bronze Foundry in Los Angeles, operated by Guido Nelli. The cast on display here is the only one that was listed in the inventory of Nancy Russell’s estate after her death. It is the only cast, out of approximately fifteen, that bears the mark of the California Bronze Foundry, which changed its name to the California Art Bronze Foundry in 1929.