Painted Miniature Teepee
A rare folk object from the artist's circle - a hand-painted leather miniature lodge made by Charles M. Russell for his close friends Mr. & Mrs. H. E. Vaught of Belton, Montana, and preserved on the Vaught family mantel for nearly a century.
A folk object from the artist's circle.
This finely rendered miniature teepee is constructed from buckskin stretched over a conical wooden pole frame, with the entire assembly mounted to a circular stained wood base. Painted in natural pigments, it reflects a remarkably faithful attention to the construction methods, proportions, and visual culture of Northern Plains lodges - suggesting not only Russell's admiration but his deep familiarity with the lifeways he so often painted.
The piece is a domestic object - made as a gift, preserved in a single Montana family's home for nearly a hundred years. It is one of relatively few surviving folk objects from Russell's hand, and the only one of its kind known to the Foundation.
An object built with the care of the real thing.
The piece measures approximately 18.5 inches in total height including the wood base and upper pole extensions. The hide itself forms an elliptical conical surface, faithfully replicating the geometry of a full-scale Plains lodge in miniature. Sinew stitching, hand-painted decoration, and a stained circular hardwood base complete the construction - all consistent with the period and with Russell's documented working methods on small folk objects.
Close friends of the artist.
Mr. & Mrs. H. E. Vaught of Belton, Montana, were close friends and longtime acquaintances of Charles and Nancy Russell. The Vaught homestead in Belton - at the western gateway of what would become Glacier National Park - sat squarely within the geography that animated Russell's mature work, and the friendship between the two families is documented in surviving period photographs.
The painted teepee was given by Russell to the Vaughts and prominently displayed on the mantel in their parlor. Photographs from 1909 and 1912 show the homestead in its early-twentieth-century setting; an additional period photograph shows the teepee itself displayed above the Vaught fireplace. From the Vaughts the piece descended through their family - never sold, never circulated through the auction market, never restored - until its 2024 acquisition by a private collector in Utah and subsequent donation to the Foundation in 2025.
Belton, Montana - 1909 & 1912.
Period photographs of the Vaught Homestead and the teepee in situ. These images form the heart of the piece's provenance documentation - visual evidence of the object's continuous, undisturbed presence in a single Montana home.
From Russell's hand to the Foundation.
The teepee's chain of custody runs through a single Montana family for nearly a century - a remarkably clean provenance for a folk object of this age. This Vaught-family history is specific to the teepee and does not extend to the Foundation's separate Russell oil, Warpath, which has its own, unrelated chain of custody.
- early 20th c.Charles Marion Russell - the artist
- early 20th c.Mr. & Mrs. H. E. Vaught, Belton, Montana - close friends of the artist; piece displayed on the family mantel
- 20th c.Vaught Family, by descent
- 2024Private Collection, Utah
- 2025The Collectible Home Foundation - donated by a private donor
.Accompanied by
- A vintage photograph showing the teepee displayed in the Vaught family's parlor above the fireplace, c. early 1900s.
- Multiple period photographs of the Vaught Homestead in 1909 and 1912.
- An independent appraisal from Intermountain Appraisal documenting authenticity, condition, and material analysis (available to qualifying institutions on request).
A one-of-one Russell folk object.
The painted teepee represents a rare and unique facet of Russell's work - both mechanical and artistic. It is at once a sculpture, a folk object, and a hand-painted gift. Its extraordinary provenance - preserved continuously in a single family home for the better part of a century - gives it the kind of documentary integrity rarely found with objects of this age. For an institution interested in Russell beyond the canvas, or in the lived friendships and domestic settings that surrounded him, the piece is a singular acquisition opportunity.
Construction, hide painting, and condition.
Close-up photography of the painted leather, the conical pole structure, the sinew stitching, and the stained wooden base. Click any image to view enlarged.
A piece for a museum that values the human side of the artist.
The Foundation seeks placement with a qualifying U.S. institution - a museum of the American West, a Montana history collection, or a university with research interests in Russell's circle, his domestic objects, or the Vaught family. The complete research file, including the period Vaught photographs and the Intermountain Appraisal documentation, is available to qualifying applicants on request.
Apply for institutional placement
