EBS STAFF
Storyteller Mary Jane Bradbury will be doing a period impersonation of the late Nancy Russell, wife and business manager of esteemed Western artist Charles M. Russell, on Saturday, Aug. 19, from 12-2 p.m. at Big Sky’s Crail Ranch Homestead. A picnic lunch and soft drinks will be provided at noon with the program beginning at 1 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.
Against the backdrop of social and political reform of the early 1900s, Nancy Cooper Russell (1878-1940) was a woman ahead of her time. A self-taught business woman with the ability to take charge, Nancy helped her husband become the highest paid living artist of his time. Art historians consistently give her credit for being the reason the coveted Russell paintings and sculptures exist in museums and private collections today.
Bradbury presents a dialogue in Nancy’s words that gives insight into the remarkable woman behind the man. Bradbury shares Nancy’s stories of her chance meeting with the Montana cowboy artist who would become her husband, and his role in a growing genre of art that celebrated the myth of the West. Bradbury also shares Nancy’s accounts of the renowned artists and celebrities the Russells became acquainted with as they traveled from New York City to Hollywood in the early 20th century.
Sponsored by the Crail Ranch Conservators and funded by Humanities Montana, the program will run 45 minutes, followed by a Q&A period and discussion.
Crail Ranch Homestead Museum is located at 2110 Spotted Elk Road in Big Sky. For more information email crailranch@bscomt.org or call (406) 993-2112.
