Cowboy Horse by Charlie Beil

(1894 - 1976) Bronze dresser tray, dated 1926; 16/150. Noted for his western sculpture, Beil became a friend of Charles Russell, when Beil was a working Montana cowboy who wanted to sculpt. Beil established a studio in Great Falls, where Russell visited, and later established his studio. Two days before Russell died, he took the local newspaperman to Charlie Beil’s little studio, to get publicity for Beil, calling Beil the "best feller l ever seen modeling hosses an cowpunchers". At Russell’s funeral in 1926, Beil led the procession with Russell’s empty saddle horse. ln the 1930’s, Bell moved to Alberta, where he designed the first trade dollars, which were legal tender, for the Cavalry Stampede in 1963.This piece was given to James Graham by Charlie Beil. Graham was a mining equipment owner in Butte, MT, in 1926. Graham also designed the golf course, which is now the "Silver Bow Country Club," in Butte.