In 1904, Charles Russell and his wife Nancy traveled to St. Louis to visit his family and attend the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. The largest world’s fair up to that time, the exposition commemorated the centennial of Lewis and Clark’s epic journey of exploration across the continent, which was commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson. This watercolor was one of a number of works Russell later produced of the subject. Here, the red-haired William Clark stands in his canoe with a flintlock rifle cradled in his arms, while the Shoshone guide, Sacagawea, communicates with a group of Columbia River Indians.
