Describing this bronze Rick Stewart wrote, “Russell enjoyed modeling wax and clay figures of animals on oddly shaped roots or fragments of branches that he picked up around his summer cabin at Glacier Park. Bears were a favorite subject, and a number of the artist’s original models survive that show these animals in a variety of activities around pieces of natural wood that resemble trees. While most of these models were not intended to be cast in bronze, Russell did model one version for that purpose – a female grizzly and her two cubs clambering on a fallen tree, which came to be known as Mountain Mother.”

Furthermore, Stewart stated, “[Homer] Britzman’s compilation of Russell bronzes listed a total of fifteen casts for Mountain Mother, probably including the seven posthumous Nelli casts. This would make a total of eight lifetime casts, but public collections and auction records indicate at least nine: five bearing the Roman Bronze Works mark and another four with the marks of the California foundries.”

LITERATURE
Rick Stewart, Charles M. Russell, Sculptor (Fort Worth, TX: Amon Carter Museum, 1994), pages 291-2, 294, example illustrated

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