THE BLACKFOOT WOMAN IN CHARLIE RUSSELL'S LIFE

                                                                                      

On May 18, 2018 the C. M. Russell Museum in Great Falls, Montana opened its new exhibition, and the theme is “CHARLES M. RUSSELL: THE WOMEN IN HIS LIFE AND ART”.

The exhibition had been announced in the CM Russell Museum’s calendar, which is probably how most people learned about the exhibition. The calendar naturally featured Nancy Russell, Charlie’s wife and business manager who played a central role. Also mentioned were an early girlfriend of Charlie’s and Josephine Trigg, a friend of the Russell’s and a promoter of Charlie.

Up until this new exhibition, the phrase “hiding in plain sight” pretty well described the Blackfoot woman model pictured on the front of the calendar. Charlie Russell featured her in numerous artworks, but she was seldom either named or discussed in any depth in any literature about Charlie Russell. Now, the C. M. Russell Museum has not only named the Blackfoot woman model but also provided the story of her life and relationship with Charlie and Nancy Russell.

Charlie Russell’s Blackfoot woman model was Josephine Wright Tharp. Josie Wright is prominently featured in the museum’s new exhibition. Here is a display in the C. M. Russell Museum both naming her and telling some of her story.

On May 19, 2018, the new exhibition was open to the general public. The evening of this opening much more was revealed about Josephine Wright Tharp when her granddaughter made a presentation entitled “THE BLACKFOOT WOMAN IN CHARLIE RUSSELL’S LIFE”. Her granddaughter is Nancy Josephine (Tharp) Clark. Nancy is proud of her name because she is named Nancy after Charlie Russell’s wife and Josephine after her grandmother. Here is a picture of Nancy Josephine Clark standing in front of an enlarged picture of her grandmother and Charlie Russell in the C. M. Russell Museum. The same photograph from the Amon Carter Museum in Fort Worth, Texas – identifies the woman in this same photograph as an “unidentified woman.”

Who was JOSIE WRIGHT? How did she meet Nancy and Charlie Russell? How did she become Charlie Russell’s muse? How close a relationship did she and her husband have to the Russells?