According to Rick Stewart, “Russell modeled the small figure of a wolf shying away from a bottle in 1920. Like the artist’s first depiction of a wolf in bronze, The Last Laugh, it is in ashtray form and represents the wolf’s controversial relationship with man. Russell’s title, To Noses That Read, A Smell That Spells Man, appears on the surface of the base—one of the few instances where he inscribed a title directly on one of his bronze subjects. In a skillfully rendered moment, the wary animal recoils from the scent of an object that represents the wolf’s bitter enemy, man.”

PROVENANCE
The Artist, gifted to
John Boles (Hollywood actor), Beverly Hills, CA circa 1925
Present owner, by descent

LITERATURE:
Rick Stewart, Charles M. Russell, Sculptor (Fort Worth, TX: Amon Carter Museum, 1994), pp 243-8, example illustrated

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