Portrait: Andy Russell
Object number2017.65.2
Artist
Dennis Karchner
Copyright holder
Ruanaidh Cards
Date2008
MediumInk; Paperboard; Adhesive; Foamcore
Credit LineGift of Arthur Joseph Rooney, Jr.
DescriptionPoster print of a football card. Rounded rectangular poster print on glossy paperboard. Print features color bust portrait of man wearing a Pittsburgh Steelers uniform and holding football helmet in his hands; man is in three-quarter view facing slightly proper left. Man has dark hair and mustache and gray eyes. Cloudy sky in background. Off-white/tan border around image. Above and below image is player and team information. Print is mounted on a rectangular piece of black foamcore.DimensionsHeight x Width x Depth (Print only): 21.063 × 15 × 0.125 in. (53.5 × 38.1 × 0.3 cm)Height x Width x Depth (Foamcore backer with mounted print): 28.5 × 21.938 × 0.625 in. (72.4 × 55.7 × 1.6 cm)
SignedArtist signature handwritten in black ink in bottom right corner "D. KARCHNER".
InscriptionsAbove image is black, yellow, and white printed text "Andy Russell / 1963 - 1976 / 34".
Player's uniform has white "3" on chest and proper left shoulder; also has white "56" on front of proper left shoulder.
Below image are two Super Bowl rings: left ring has text "PITTSBURGH / WORLD / CHAMPIONS / STEELERS / 19 / 74" and right ring has text "PITTSBURGH / WORLD / CHAMPIONS / STEELERS / 19 / 75".
Between the rings is printed white, silver, yellow, and black text "ALL PRO LINEBACKER / PITTSBURGH / STEELERS".
Top left corner has signature handwritten in black ink "Andy Russell".
Left margin has text printed in black ink at center "FOR RAY MANSFIELD".
MarksBottom left corner of image has light gray printed text "© KARCHNER".
Bottom margin has handwritten black ink text in bottom left corner "13/20 AJR" and black printed text at center "© RUANAIDH CARDS".
Historical NotesMore than 30 years ago, Art Rooney, Jr. and his wife Kay visited the Circle Art Gallery in San Diego, California. By the time they left, a new passion had been born. Unable to buy a seascape that had sold while they shopped, Rooney purchased a portrait instead. Painted by Merv Corning, the work featured Cincinnati Bengals’ wide receiver Isaac Curtis, a player Rooney admired. Over the next several years Rooney returned to the gallery while in San Diego on scouting trips or at Steelers’ games and bought more of Corning’s art. Eventually Corning called him, beginning a friendship and artistic partnership that lasted until the artist passed away in 2006. Rooney gradually transitioned from a buyer of art, to commissioning specific pieces. He began to collect what he knew and loved – paintings that depicted members of the great Steelers’ teams of the 1970s. Rooney had scouted many of these players and had come to know and respect them as athletes, but also as men. Over time Art Rooney’s collection has broadened to include pieces by two other artists and to represent his life, his work, and the special relationships he developed through football. Originally from Clearfield, Pa., Dennis Karchner began drawing as a young child. He studied at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. After years working in the screen-printing business, he returned to his first love, drawing and painting. Based in Cody, Wyoming, Karchner is known for his Western art, images of native peoples, cowboys, and even current outdoorsmen, such as the Steelers’ Brett Keisel. His pencil and oil renderings are rich in detail and use the raw, natural landscape of the West as a background. After seeing a portrait Karchner painted of broadcaster Curt Gowdy, Art Rooney Jr. contacted him. The two have worked together for the past six years to capture “the warriors” of the gridiron in paint. This painting features Art Rooney, Sr.’s brother Dan – The Chief’s baseball teammate, lifelong friend, and religious counselor.Label TextThough artist Merv Corning and Art Rooney, Jr. became close friends, they never met face to face. They talked often on the phone and Rooney corresponded by postcard and letter. His notes led Corning to create “postcard” art, for printing on thick cards that looked like trading cards, and corresponding “posters” of those images. Rooney used these cards to write to Merv and also for notes to players, family, and friends. Many are trademarked “Murray Cards” on the bottom, a private joke between the two men that referenced Maggie Murray (Rooney), Art’s grandmother. After Merv Corning passed away, Art Rooney had Karchner create this card art for him. These cards are marked “Ruanaidh,” not Murray. Pronounced Ru-ah-nee, this is both the Gaelic word for Rooney, and the title of Art Rooney, Jr.’s memoir about his father and the Rooney family, published in 2008. Russell became one of the few Steelers to make the transition from the losing days to a Super Bowl ring. He adapted to Chuck Noll’s system and changed the way he played the game. As Russell said about Noll, “He was able to pick guys who were driven to succeed. He’d teach them, but they would bring their own motivation.”
Related person
Charles Andrew Russell
(born 1941)
Collector
Arthur Joseph Rooney Jr.
Related institution
Pittsburgh Steelers
Related person
Burt James Ray Mansfield
(1941 - 1996)
Related institution
James Gallery
On View
Not on view
Ron Mahoney
Stella Marrs
Ron Mahoney
Mervin Allen Corning
