238

Verso:
Label, C. M. Russell Museum, Great Falls, Montana
Label, Midwestern Galleries, Cincinnati, Ohio

Help Hirum is recorded in the C. M. Russell Catalogue Raisonné as reference number CR.ILU.217.

According to Russell historian Brian Dippie, “Hirum was Charlie’s nickname for Keros A. Hinote, who at one time ran the Maverick saloon in Great Falls with George T. ‘Cut Bank’ Browne and subsequently tended bar at a number of establishments, including the Hagenson Brothers’ and the Cream City Saloon before moving east to Long Island. Since Charlie tailored his letters to his friends’ interests, he devoted this one to a discussion of a London drinking emporium he had visited. Its woman bartender would have been out of place in Great Falls, he observed, but not its bouncer, who reminded him of a hard-looking gentleman the bunch at home all knew.”

PROVENANCE:
Midwestern Galleries, Cincinnati, Ohio
Mongerson Wunderlich, Chicago, Illinois
Private Collection, New York, circa 1990
Private Collection, Wyoming

LITERATURE:
Brian Dippie, ed, Charles M. Russell, Word Painter (Fort Worth, TX: Amon Carter Museum, 1993), page 194, illustrated

Condition ReportViewed through glass. Vertical crease in center. Two small holes in lower-right corner.

Important Notice: Statements of condition are provided as a service to potential bidders; such statements are educated opinions and should not be regarded as facts. The Coeur d’Alene Art Auction has no responsibility for any errors or omissions.