Innocent Allies 1913

Editor: This is Charles M. Russell’s “Innocent Allies,” painted in 1913. It’s an oil on canvas, depicting horses on a precipice, overlooking what seems to be a stagecoach… it definitely evokes a sense of romanticised western adventure! I find it both epic and melancholic. What do you see in it? Curator: Epic and melancholic… yes, I feel that too. I think Russell is playing with scale in an interesting way – we are brought right to the cliff edge with the horses, made intimate with their quiet rest, whilst at the same time, our eye is swept into this huge vista behind them. He's asking us, "Are we connected to this landscape or alienated from it?" The 'innocent allies,' the horses, they are the link. But allies of whom? It’s like a poem, each brushstroke a word pregnant with unspoken thoughts, each color a feeling trying to find a form. Editor: I see what you mean. So the horses aren’t just resting; they're representing…connection? Almost like a bridge. But is it to the past, perhaps? The stagecoach does feel quite distant, like it’s disappearing. Curator: Exactly. Maybe to a disappearing way of life too. I get the feeling that Russell isn’t simply depicting a scene but also offering a lament for the changing West, that tension between civilization, represented by the stagecoach, and the untamed wilderness, held within the gaze of those resting animals. I can almost smell the pine in the air, can’t you? And what do you think about the positioning of the moon over there, right? Editor: Yes! I didn't initially think about the symbolism of that moon – it does really highlight that sense of wilderness, far away and untouched. Also, considering he made it on plain-air… Wow! Curator: Indeed. Art can often speak when words fail. Editor: I completely agree! It gives you a feeling more than just viewing an event. I appreciate that shift in my perception of "Innocent Allies”.