Title:
WHEN THE LAND BELONGED TO GOD
Artist:
Russell, Charles M. (1864-1926)
Medium:
Oil on canvas
Date:
1914
Source:
Museum Purchase MHS
Object ID:
X1977.01.01
Description:
Russell painted When the Land Belonged to God to hang in the reading room of the Montana Club, Helena's prestigious gentleman's association. It depicts a vast herd of bison crossing the Missouri River at daybreak, just downstream from the town of Fort Benton. At face value, it is a beautifully realized portrait of a majestic icon of the American West. Moreover, as the title indicates, it is also a dramatic depiction of Russell's belief in the superiority of life in Montana before the coming of Euro-American civilization forever altered life under the Big Sky.
Click to Enlarge