Nature writer Ernest Thompson Seton, whom Russell met during one of his first visits to New York, was noted for his stories of wildlife featuring a central animal character with human attributes. One of these was Krag, a magnificent Rocky Mountain sheep, whose exploits appeared in Seton’s collection of stories titled The Lives of the Hunted (1901). Seton followed Krag’s life from birth to eventual rise as leader of his band after defeating his rivals in combat, climaxing when Krag was forced to fight his chief opponent on a rocky precipice. Seton described how the two adversaries faced each other and attempted to force each other off the edge of the cliff. The two rams locked their horns in combat, struggling near the edge, until Krag forced his opponent to concede. The drama of Seton’s account is echoed in the bronze pictured here. One of Russell’s most accomplished studies in bronze, the sculpture also has the least understood casting history. A copyright for the work was registered on July 21, 1911, under the title The Battle. Its earliest appearance in an exhibition seems to have been the annual display of painting and sculpture at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1912. Evidence seems to suggest that Roman Bronze Works may have made the initial casts of this bronze, at least up to 1916, when it first appeared in an exhibition under its present title, The Combat. In that year, Mrs. Russell had at least two casts made by the August Griffoul & Brothers foundry, which today are in other collections. The bronze on display here is the only copy that remained in Nancy Russell’s estate following her death. It does not bear a foundry mark, and the chemical content of the bronze does not resemble that of Roman Bronze Works. Since Mrs. Russell was always looking for foundries which could do the casting for less money, it is possible that this cast was executed by another maker now unknown.