February 14, 2019 600 AM
ALPINE – The “Genius of Charlie Russell” will be the subject of a presentation by Randy Rieman during the 32nd Annual Texas Cowboy Poetry Gathering, February 22-23.
Randy will give the talk at 10am Saturday, February 23 in Marshall Auditorium. Cost is $5 per person.
Charlie Russell was a renowned Western Artist who also wrote “hundreds of beautifully illustrated letters” to his friends.
Russell arrived in Montana in 1880 and worked as a horse wrangler. Charlie was developing his incredible artistic talent even before he arrived in Montana, but it was in Montana where Charlie’s genius blossomed. By 1904, Charlie was the most celebrated western artist in history, chronicling the west in his sketches, oil paintings, watercolors and sculpture .
The letters he wrote are more than visual delights. They are a window into the heart of the man who was known as the “Cowboy Artist,” Charles M Russell … arguably the greatest western artist of all time. Rieman will read many of Russell’s letters as he presents photos of his artwork.
Randy makes his home in the Beaverhead Valley of southwest Montana, where he runs a small horse operation and a destination horsemanship school.
For the last 30 years Randy has been involved with the public presentation of cowboy poetry at the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, Nevada. He has been featured reciting traditional western poetry as well as Australian bush poetry at numerous gatherings and festivals around the western United States.
