Kid Gloves and Brass Knuckles: Nancy Cooper Russell speaks

Viewed against the backdrop of the early decades of the twentieth century, Nancy Cooper Russell was a woman ahead of her time. A self-taught businesswoman with an innate ability to take charge, she helped turn her husband, rambunctious cowboy Charles M. Russell, into one of America’s most highly acclaimed western artists. Today, scholars consistently identify Nancy as the entrepreneurial force behind the extraordinary number of Russell paintings and sculptures that now grace public galleries and private collections. In a performance that brings Nancy to life, actress Mary Jane Bradbury shares the story of how the couple met, describes the world of art into which Nancy propelled them, and tells about the artists and celebrities the Russells befriended as they traveled from Montana to New York City, and eventually to a growing California suburb called Hollywood.