Portrait of Andy Russell
Object number2017.65.10
Artist
Dennis Karchner
Framed by
L & L Framing, Inc.
Date2007
MediumOil paint; Masonite; Wood; Metal; Paper; Ink
Credit LineGift of Arthur Joseph Rooney, Jr.
DescriptionFramed oil painting on Masonite. Rectangular painting depicts bust portrait of male football player in three-quarter view with body facing slightly proper left and head presented straight on with his gaze up and to the proper right. Figure has dark hair and mustache, wears Pittsburgh Steelers uniform, and holds football helmet in his hands in the right foreground. Gray cloudy background. Painted dark black-brown wooden frame with gold distressed details and red-brown and gray ribbed border around opening.DimensionsHeight x Width x Depth (Framed): 25.75 × 21.813 × 1.75 in. (65.4 × 55.4 × 4.4 cm)Height x Width (Sight size): 19.625 × 15.75 in. (49.8 × 40 cm)
SignedArtist signature painted in white in bottom left corner “© KARCHNER - 2007”.
InscriptionsPlayer has white “3” on chest and on proper left shoulder and has white “56” on front of proper left shoulder.
Player’s helmet has team logo with black text “Steelers”.
MarksReverse of frame has framer information stamped at bottom center “J & L Framing, Inc. / … / Spartanburg, SC 29301 / …”
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 TextRussell 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
Terms
On View
Not on view
Dennis Karchner
Dennis Karchner
