Where the Best of Riders Quit
Charles Marion RUSSELL
(American, 1864-1926)
Where the Best of Riders Quit
Dateca. 1920
Mediumbronze
Dimensionsobject: 14 3/4 x 8 x 8 3/8 in. (37.5 x 20.3 x 21.3 cm)
base: 6 1/2 x 10 1/8 in. (16.5 x 25.7 cm)
ClassificationSCULPTURE
Credit LineSBMA, Gift of Malcolm P. Aldrich in memory of Edward S. Harkness
Object number1966.8
Subject(s)
- animal
- horse
- men
Collection
- 20th century American
- American
Sub-Collection(s)
- American
On View
Not on viewCollections
Label TextLargely self-taught, Russell specialized in representations of the Old American West. A realist, his subjects came from direct experience as a rancher and a cowboy. He also spent time living among a tribe of the Blackfeet Nation in 1888, which specialists believe is the reason for the detailed authenticity of his depictions of Native Americans.
This is one of his best-known sculptures. His wife Nancy described it thus: “The horse is making a fight and is figuring on landing on his rider. The rider, being of the best, is thinking too. As he steps off his horse he will be standing beside him when he lands and, having ahold of the cheek piece of the hackamore, will have the horse bump his head a little harder when he hits the ground. As the horse comes up the cowpuncher will grasp the horn and be in the saddle when he gets on his feet again. Most horses think twice before they throw themself a second time."
