western american art

In the Enemy’s Country, Charles Marion Russell

In the Enemy’s Country is an important work, painted just five years before the artist’s death. Russell himself acknowledged that he was capturing “The West that Has Passed,” a romantic representation of native life before Europeans arrived.

He portrays a party of Northern Plains Indians on a scouting mission in another tribe’s territory. The setting sun spreads a quilt of color behind them as they advance alongside their horses. Their wariness—embodied in every aspect of their poses and expressions—heightens the sense of drama. The painting’s idealized narrative reflects Russell’s firm belief in the desirability of a life lived in harmony with nature.

American Indian Art