209 Charles Russell -A Bronc Twister

SOLD
Winning Bid Undisclosed
This item SOLD at 2018 Apr 07 @ 13:44UTC-7 : PDT/MST
Category Art
Auction Currency USD
Start Price NA
Estimated at 200,000.00 - 300,000.00 USD
A Bronc Twister
Artist: Charles Russell
Date of Birth: 1864-1926
Medium: Bronze
Dimensions: 17 3/4 inches high
Signed: Signed and skull insignia
Verso: Calif Art Bronze Fnry LA
Frame/Outer Dim: 17.75 x 16 x 11 - 25lbs
“The Weaver” was the title Russell originally intended for this bronze because the horse in A Bronc Twister is doing what is known in cowboy parlance as “weaving.” Russell scholar Rick Stewart describes this dance, “As [the horse’s] back arches in the air, its front hooves strike out to the right and its back pair goes to the left. Striking the ground–usually with bone-jarring force–it will jump up again, this time putting its front hooves to the left and its back hooves to the right, weaving the hapless rider to and fro.” (Stewart, p. 179) In the bronze, man and mount countertwist–the horse to its left, the man to his right. A delicate balance–the X made by the man and horse–is all that keeps the man aboard. The complex, helical shape of the work imparts an upwardly spiraling energy to the bronze that makes the viewer either want to keep moving around the piece or compel the bronze itself to rotate. The effect of this desire is dizzying and communicates some of what the rider is going through.